Honoring a Teacher: The Unsung Hero
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Picture a teacher working at an economically disadvantaged school trying to motivate and inspire students with unique needs, providing resources for students with her own money, but yet personally struggling to stay afloat financially because of student loan debt. This is the reality for far too many passionate educators, such as myself, who produce and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. My name is Sabrina Smith and I’ve been responding to the needs and challenges of economically disadvantaged students in the most compelling ways for the past 15 years. I am now committed to a movement- Honoring a Teacher: The Unsung Heroes- in which supporters thank a teacher by donating monies to assist in eliminating teachers’ student loan debt. #thankateacher
Born and raised in New York City housing projects in Brooklyn, I was one of five children who grew up in a loving two parent household. Morals and values were instilled in us on a daily basis. We were taught that hard work, dedication, perseverance, and a solid education would assist us in achieving our goals. From 1992 to 2013, I pursued higher education. During those years, I was able to obtain a B.A. in Criminology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice- CUNY, M.A. in Early Childhood Education, and an Ed.S in Curriculum & Instruction Piedmont College. In 2010, I was one of 15 candidates who applied and was accepted to Piedmont College’s doctoral program that received approximately 2,000 applicants. Unfortunately, in 2013 after completing all of my doctoral coursework, I had to drop out because I could no longer afford out-of-pocket expenses for tuition. For the past years, I was able to advance academically because of student loans. My parents were only capable of putting my first two siblings through school. As for me, student loans were my only hope. Without student loans, I wouldn’t have been able to earn my first degree, as well as the others. However, with a teacher’s salary I’m struggling to repay $127,632.37 in student loans with Fedloan Servicing (account # 0556540106).
Born and raised in New York City housing projects in Brooklyn, I was one of five children who grew up in a loving two parent household. Morals and values were instilled in us on a daily basis. We were taught that hard work, dedication, perseverance, and a solid education would assist us in achieving our goals. From 1992 to 2013, I pursued higher education. During those years, I was able to obtain a B.A. in Criminology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice- CUNY, M.A. in Early Childhood Education, and an Ed.S in Curriculum & Instruction Piedmont College. In 2010, I was one of 15 candidates who applied and was accepted to Piedmont College’s doctoral program that received approximately 2,000 applicants. Unfortunately, in 2013 after completing all of my doctoral coursework, I had to drop out because I could no longer afford out-of-pocket expenses for tuition. For the past years, I was able to advance academically because of student loans. My parents were only capable of putting my first two siblings through school. As for me, student loans were my only hope. Without student loans, I wouldn’t have been able to earn my first degree, as well as the others. However, with a teacher’s salary I’m struggling to repay $127,632.37 in student loans with Fedloan Servicing (account # 0556540106).
Organizer
Sabrina Smith
Organizer
Snellville, GA
