College of Southern Nevada

January 19, 2022

Dear Mrs. Kristoff,

I hope you have been doing well. It has been a while since I have last seen you! I’m
currently in my second semester of college at the College of Southern Nevada. I am majoring in
Elementary Education and have plans to transfer to UNLV after earning my associates degree. I
have also just received my substitute license and I will begin working as a Certified Temporary
Tutor next week!
I decided to go into the education field for a multitude of reasons. The impact that you
had on me as a teacher is one of them. When I reflect on my times as an elementary school
student, I remember 5th grade being the most impactful of those few years. Since I was in the 1st
grade, I always said that I would be a teacher, but as I started to read and write, I heavily
considered the idea of becoming an author. I remember an assignment that you gave us where we
had to write a fictional short story. I had started the assignment with a story about a penguin who
owned a hotel and I honestly don’t remember how I concluded the story, but I remember feeling
disappointed because I knew it wasn’t a good one. After revising and having a one-on-one
editing session with you, I asked if it was okay to change my idea and you told me I could. After
that, I created a new story about a raindrop and in the story, I talked about the excitement the
raindrop felt when arriving to the world and the few moments of joy that he felt, even though he
knew his time in the world was limited. I remember showing you my story and you being in
shock. You told me it was such a great story and you even sent me to the principal’s office to
show her my story. A few days later were parent-teacher conferences and I will never forget
what you told my mom during this conference. You told her that about the story I wrote and that
you saw so much potential in me. You also said that I should truly consider teaching as a career
when I got older because you saw that I had it in me. Hearing your comments motivated me and
it made me feel good knowing that someone believed in me at such a young age. Shortly after
that, I joined journalism with you and Ms. Williams, where I learned a lot and helped my
classmates create and edit their stories. I learned a lot from you both and it made me excited to
go to school. When I think about the kind of teacher you were, it inspires me because even
though you were struggling with your illness, you always came to work to teach us in the best
way that you could with a smile on your face.
If I wouldn’t have had the best school experience that I did during your class, I would
probably still be debating what career choice is the best for me. I tried to think about other career
options throughout high school, but deep down I knew that being an elementary school teacher is
the one thing I truly want to do. I would like to thank you for inspiring me and having a positive
impact in my life.

Sincerely,
Dayanara Garcia