My name is Caitlin Kerr and I’m 18 years of age. I live in Glenrothes, Fife, from where I commute to university from. I am at Dundee University as I want to be an inspiration to children. I want them to believe that they can all achieve high standards and achieve their goals in life. I will teach each child to be dedicated and determined enough to never want to give up, this way they will fully achieve.

When in Primary 7 at primary school, this was my most memorable year as I had a truly inspirational teacher who was a fantastic role model. I’d never thought about teaching, this was all until my primary 7 teacher told me I’d be a great teacher. Through High School I always stuck in; I pushed myself to the limits and this resulted in achieving Head Girl in my final year. This deemed to be more challenging than anticipated as I was then viewed as a different person.

Through my years at High School I endured some extremely difficult encounters. At the start of my 4^th year I was taken for an emergency operation. If this wasn’t a big enough challenge in itself, just before my exams, my younger brother was diagnosed with Leukaemia, childrens cancer. Still to this day, he is undertaking chemotherapy treatment. Then to finalise my years at school in my 5^th year, the day before three consecutive higher exams, my grandma passed away. All of these experiences have made me a better, and stronger, person. I have learnt not to take things for granted and this was put into practice when applying to university. I knew there wasn’t going to be an easy route so I worked to my full potential and achieved exactly what I needed to for getting a place at university.

The initial reason I looked further into teaching was because through all my difficult times at school there was only one person who supported me, one of my teachers. She was always there for me and always offered advice. I felt like if I needed to talk to someone she was the only person I could go to. This is what I want to pass down to the children I will teach. I feel with my experiences that I could understand and help children with the correct support and advice necessary. I want to be that one person every child feels like they can turn to.

During my 6^th year I carried out work experience at my local primary school. With this I worked with all ages, primary one to primary seven, and with every class I worked with, I always felt rewarded. This is when I realised this job was definitely for me. It was great to see the children acknowledging what you’ve just passed onto them.

Being an undergraduate means that i’m one step closer to where I want to be. I’m now on my way to being able to becoming the inspirational teacher I aspire to be.