Running head: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY

Autobiographical Essay
Brian Greenwalt
Instructor: Dr. Evin Fox
EDUC 201: Foundations of Education
Spring 2015

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
Autobiographical Essay
Introduction
I was born the second of two children to my parents, Linda and
Larry Greenwalt. My birth took place in Moses Lake, Washington on
September 11, 1986.
Our family of four lived there for three years, until my father got
transferred to Twin Falls, Idaho. My parents purchased a house in
Jerome and lived there for my entire childhood.
Educational Background
My formal education began at the Kindergarten Center in Jerome,
Idaho. I then began to be bumped around from school to school, never
leaving Jerome. I started first grade at Washington Elementary, then
after being condemned I was moved to Horizon Elementary, where I
spent grades first through third. From fourth grade through sixth grade,
I attended Central Elementary due to sectioning and convenience. This
is where I ended my primary education. I cant say that I had any
extraordinary teachers during this portion of my schooling, but I didnt
have any exceptionally bad ones either.
I then started attending Jerome Middle School, right across the
street from my former elementary school. This is when schooling
format changed; students got more freedoms, were able to start
participating in school sports, had multiple teachers, and had to switch
classrooms to better prepare them for high school and beyond. For

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
seventh grade, I again cant necessarily discern an outstanding
teacher, even among the four separate ones that were part of my
learning. At this point I began eighth grade, this is the first year that I
can remember having a great teacher, Mrs. Otto. She did not have
desks or tables, she had couches and Lay-z-Boys. She allowed us to eat
and drink in the classroom, which made us feel like adults and
comfortable, in turn making learning easier. She was comfortable and
easy to talk to I never did well in English classes, but she never made
me feel like I was unable to approach her with any problems I was
experiencing. She was outgoing and joyful every day, which made me
excited to see her and look forward to her class period. I made my way
over to Jerome High School and continued to have excellent educators.
Starting with my agriculture teacher, Mr. Clifton. If you werent
understanding, or not doing something right, he would find new
pathways of explaining it or showing you. For instance, if your weld
didnt turn out or was not strong enough, he would put on a welding
helmet and stand over your shoulder and watch you then would nicely
explain (not what you did wrong) but how you could improve;
because of him I became an exceptional welder, won state
competitions for FFA, and even considered it as a career. He even left
the shop open after school for anyone that wanted to come practice on
anything. Another teacher that was amazing was Mr. Nordquist, my
Physics and Chemistry teacher. He had experiments and

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demonstrations that made everything make sense. I ended up doing
very well in these advanced classes, where most struggle. He made
physics phun as he put it. We had class competitions like dropping an
egg from the highest distance without breaking the shell and building
the strongest model bridge out of only toothpicks and glue (I won).
Lastly, I had my other science teacher B. Clark, my favorite of all my
teachers up to this point in my education and undoubtedly even until
now. Every time anyone asked about an exceptional teacher that has
made an impact in my life, he is the first person that always comes to
my mind. He used technology in the best possible ways. He taught
earth science and I first got introduced to a halite rock in this class that
spanned to my other classes because it is sodium chloride, which is
salt, (chemistry) and forms a cube (chemistry & physics) that was a big
spark in my life. He also taught my Anatomy and Physiology class
where he used actual tissues and organs to learn cells and structures
of the body. He had a great attitude and joked when appropriate, was
active and cared about your leaning and success, and was able to pick
out students that stood out and worked with them more intimately
about advanced material (that wasnt on the test, just extra material
for the sake of learning).
In 2005, I started college at CSI and have no teacher to comment
about and after a year I had to quit for financial reasons. I then started
my higher education in Oregon in 2012, where I had switched my

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
major three times at this point. In this period I only have two professors
that stand out as excellent teachers. One was my Dynamics teacher
that just made everything make sense and could explain everything in
a way that it was understandable, which is huge in a difficult class like
Dynamics. The other was my math teacher; I loved how he gave out
notes to fill out as he worked the problems on the screen. The students
would then keep them as their own notes. Even though he was always
busy because he was the math department chair, he was always
available for questions. He was always happy and had a sense of
humor, which I love.

Work History
My work experience is vast and started at a fairly young age. I
was 15 when I got my first job moving irrigation pipe in alfalfa fields
during the summer. I then did another summer job between junior and
senior year at Steelhead Landscaping and Irrigation. I mainly mowed
lawns, but got involved in other landscape projects including bushes,
ground covering, and even irrigation systems. After graduating from
high school in 2005, I started in retail at Zumiez, and also worked at
the Pretzel Maker. The manager from Journeys offered me a position,
so I worked all three jobs until I picked up a fourth job at a body jewelry
kiosk. After slowing down to one job, I became a manager at Journeys.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
After a disagreement with higher management, I left my position and
sought out other employment. I was able to find a job at Spears
Manufacturing in Jerome, where I began as a material handler and
quickly got promoted to a set-up technician. I enjoyed this job, but
decided to leave so I could move to Portland, Oregon to be with my
future wife.
The first job I could find in Oregon was retail again at Macys. I
worked there for about three years. I moved on to a temp job, building
HVAC (heating, ventilation & air conditioning) units for large buildings,
such as hospitals. After that term ended I found employment at IKEA
and worked there while beginning my higher education again. School
then needed more attention and I had to quit to focus on my priorities.
In 2014, my family and I moved back to Idaho and I got a seasonal job
at Costco. After the holidays, we all got let go. I now have a job at the
newly built Dicks Sporting Goods. After all of these jobs, I have learned
patience, understanding, and leadership. These skills will further help
me in my education career, because as a teacher, one needs patience.
Patience is important because all students learn at a different rate. If
one does not have patience, then they are unable to teach
successfully. Understanding is critical to teaching, an educator needs
to understand their students and be able to understand how to best
present the information. Leadership is important, because in the

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
classroom an educator is the leader and the students must follow the
regimen in order to learn and succeed in the class.
Service/Extracurricular Activities
As young boy I was involved in Roosevelts Boy Scouts of
America. I was able to learn many skills that I taught to younger
scouts, and still carry many with me today to pass on to my own and
other children. In school I was involved in many different sports, such
as football, wrestling, golf, soccer, basketball, and baseball. During
these sports, I was able to pass on knowledge and skills to fellow
teammates. When I become a teacher, I would also like to coach. I was
elected into Student Council my senior year of high school. Last, I was
active in my churchs youth group where I learned much if I decide to
teach at a private Christian school.
Choosing a Career in Education
I originally wanted to become a pediatrics physician, because I
adore children and having the ability to help them. This career also
intrigued me because of my love for science. I have always enjoyed
helping others with anything and everything. The pay furthermore
encouraged me, because of these reasons a childrens doctor
interested me. I tried my hand at mechanical engineering, again
because the pay and science aspects persuaded me. I then started
thinking that while being a teacher I get to help kids (like a pediatrics
physician), and I get to still be involved in sciences and mathematics

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(like a physician or engineer). The only difference was pay, but I
weighed my intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and found I am getting
more from teaching as a whole, not just monetarily.
Professional Goals
After returning to my formal education and a lot of growing up, I
have made it a goal to graduate with above a 3.0 cumulative GPA. To
achieve this goal will be very difficult due to my poor performance my
first year of college and a few classes that I struggled in. Another shortterm goal I have is that I would like to graduate and begin my career as
an educator before I turn 33 years of age. While 33 is not very old, it is
10-11 years later than normal students. As far as long-term goals, I
want to be a successful educator, I want to produce well-educated
children and inspire them. I would also like to receive award either
locally or nationally.
Conclusion
I am anticipating becoming an educator in the future and cant
wait to get into the schools. I am excited to work with children and
pass on my knowledge onto our future leaders, doctors, engineers, and
educators. After I teach future teachers, they will go on to learn mor,e
and hopefully I will have inspired them and taught them everything
they need that they will be able to improve the next generation. If we
continue to improve there will be nothing to stop us from a much
greater future.