Read Time: 2 minutes
As a BYU senior, I completed my student teaching in an inner-city school in Washington, DC. I spent every weekday in the classroom of a mentor teacher who opened her classroom to me and willingly gave me opportunities to teach and try new things. I’m sure that at times she thought to herself, “Good luck, Kendra!” And sometimes I really failed—but other times I did quite well. By the end of that experience, we became good friends. I am so grateful for a mentor who so generously shared her knowledge with me and who also helped me see that I had things to share as well.
That might be my favorite thing about being an educator: we each have something unique to share because teaching is so much about who you are and not just what you do. That is also true when leading schools, treating clients and patients, creating sound curriculum and policy, and everything else we prepare our students to do at the McKay School of Education. It is also why our world desperately needs faith-filled, Christ-centered educators who strive to use their unique gifts and talents to nurture the full potential in others.
In this issue you’ll learn a bit more about me and also about a few of the important ways members of the McKay School community are using their individual interests and perspectives to lighten others’ burdens: professors making life easier for women with autism and blending cultural traditions and best practices to improve mental health, alumni working to learn and grow in their skills so that they can better serve their schools, and donors selflessly passing on resources and support to provide opportunities for our current students. Each of these people bring who they are to the good works they do, and their faith and efforts are right now making the world a better place.
Written by Kendra M. Hall-Kenyon
Photography by Bradley Slade