127 E 7 St.

Coal Valley, IL 61240 January 16, 2013 Dear School Administrator:

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Robert Harkness
(309) 292-0308 harknes1@illinois.edu

Although I am not from the Champaign-Urbana area, I have developed a fondness for the area through my various experiences in teaching and volunteering in the community. In my sophomore year here at the University of Illinois, I worked as a tutor at both Central and Centennial High Schools and enjoyed the students as well as the teachers. The same can be said for my work as a classroom observer at Franklin Middle School during the fall semester of my junior year and my volunteer work at the Douglass Community Center. The experiences that I have had in the Champaign-Urbana and surrounding communities have been nothing short of special and I would like nothing more than to continue my work in this area as a student teacher. Throughout my work in this area, I have been lucky enough to work extensively with both high school and middle school students with varying degrees of ability. Based on my time interacting with both age groups I would prefer to spend my time as a student teacher in a high school setting, however I am open to working in a middle school as well because of my positive experiences with it as well. Upon my arrival at the U of I, I was enrolled as a Chemical Engineering major. My freshman year was spent in the chemistry labs across campus and after two semesters of this I knew that this path was not suited for me. After communicating with a couple of my former high school teachers and reflecting on what truly made me happy, I knew that following the path to becoming a teacher was the perfect fit for me as a career choice. Before college everything I participated in seemed to revolve around teaching: playing and coaching soccer, tutoring younger high school students, and working as a part-time teacher at a daycare. It had taken a year of college, but I was able to put these pieces together and realize that teaching was the profession for me. Since changing my major to Social Studies and beginning the Secondary Education minor, I have been happier than ever before because I have been able to find my passion. Because of my extensive work with children of all ages and my passion for teaching I believe that I will make for a great teacher. I have been lucky enough to coach soccer for several years now as well as teach at a daycare so I have ample amounts of experience with ages 2-17. Although I have a lot of experience, I am lacking the day-to-day in-classroom teaching experience that is crucial to my future as a teacher and I know that student teaching will provide this for me. I am excited to take this next step in the learning process To end, I would like to make one final note. My GPA since I switched my major much better reflects my quality as a student than my overall GPA. In my freshman year here I was in several rigorous accelerated chemistry classes and my GPA was quite low because of this. Sincerely, Robert Harkness