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My Parents
My parents read to me from when I was 2 up to 4 years old. My parents had different schedules. My dad had the graveyard shift, and my mom worked during the day. They always made time for me and my younger brother. Not only did they read children's books to us, but we were spoiled with books and book shelves inside our room as kids. My parents were the biggest support that I ever had. -
Elementary School
When I started school, books like, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Chrysanthemum, etc., were very popular. -
My First Interest
At age 8, I moved from NY to NV and I did not fit in with my new classmates. I found an interesting book at my school's library and ever since I always had a passion in Egyptology. Egyptology will always be my main focus and it would continue to inspire me. Once I was an adult, I ended up purchasing the exact book that inspired me. Surprisingly, I was in 3rd grade when I first read it, but it was a 7th grade level book. My mother had to help me read it every night. -
Middle School
I was reading Egyptology books above my grade level. This passion continued on and only my parents were very supportive. My teachers were not that happy that every book from the school's library that I checked out was Ancient Egypt or mummies. My first Archaeology book was at my Middle School book fair, my 8th grade yearbook has a photo of me purchasing the book. In 7th grade, I was given a medal for reading. -
High School
By the time I was in high school, everyone belonged to a group. A lot of the friends that I made liked Anime and Manga, and by the time I got myself used to subtitles and reading right to left, I was hooked. -
My Interests in Egyptology led to...
It led me to visit museums, not only here in the US, but in other countries as well. I can say that I almost completely have taken photos (and categorized them) of every item inside the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art's Egyptian gallery in NYC. In 2012, my family and I went to Italy, I have seen unwrapped Egyptian mummies up close in Rome. This trip recaptured my love of Ancient civilizations and even sparked me to learn my own language. -
High School Graduation
I was able to graduate High School by passing the Reading and Writing proficiency exams, and I was excused for the Math and Science exams due to my disability. My heart was set on becoming an Egyptologist. I was up to date with all of the best books and documentaries. I was ready to prove myself to the world. -
College Part 1
My GPA was very low because Math, PE, and Science, were my weaknesses and I scored pretty low in those classes. My dream college was at University of Memphis, because they have a History degree that offers a concentration in Ancient Egyptian History. At the time, my GPA was too low, for them, UNLV and NSC at the time. I had to apply for CSN. Unfortunately, CSN did not have Archaeology (which Egyptology falls under), instead they convinced me to major in Anthropology. I dropped out. -
Work
When I worked my first year as a CCSD Substitute Support Staff Sub for Autism classrooms, I originally had no plan to return to college. I gave up because I felt that Anthropology was boring and I did not have a passion for it. I was fortunate enough to meet and work with an amazing group of teachers, which I did not have as a former CCSD student. They inspired me to go back to college, this time as an Elementary Education major. -
College Part 2
I returned to CSN in 2018, and finished two Associate degrees in Education: Elementary and Secondary. I graduated with Secondary Education in the Spring of 2023, and I will graduate with the Elementary in the Fall of 2023. I enrolled at two Universities: University of Memphis for my History Accelerated Bachelors & Masters degree with a concentration in Ancient Egyptian History, and Nevada State University for my Elementary Education Bachelors degree. -
Conclusion
Without the acquired skill of reading, I would have never made it this far. It was very unfortunate that I had no teachers as motivators or inspiring me to work hard in reading. My parents were my biggest support, including my late younger brother, who struggled with reading and writing. I was lucky enough to start a job where I met amazing teachers to inspire me to want to teach and reach my unacquainted goal of becoming an Egyptologist. This goal requires a lot of reading and writing.