I truly believe that without a good, solid, support system, many things in life would be impossible. I am blessed in my life to have a strong support system at home. However, I am the first person in my family to attend and graduate college, and one of the first to even graduate high school. Many of the ins and outs of navigating college are unknown to my family. At Radford University, I have found such a wonderful community of support to help me out.

     My student teaching cohort provided a ton of support for me. Whenever there was an issue I needed to talk to someone about, I simply had to send a text to our group chat in order to have access to 7 other wonderful people. We frequently met up to work on projects together, stayed after class to chat, and even met up for board games on occassion. Also, we spent a weekend together traveling to Richmond, Virginia for the Virginia Association of Teachers of English conference. We have already been making plans to keep in touch post-graduation, especially since our students can easily communicate and learn about one another via technology.

     The professors I have been blessed with have not only helped me to learn how to be a better teacher, but have helped mold me into someone much more responsible than I was prior to entering the program. These professors also share much the same values that I do, so it was easy to form good working relationships with them. These professors have also encouraged me to participate in events that have allowed me to form friendships with other professionals.

     Social media has had a great impact on my community of practice. The Notice & Note signpost facebook group has thousands of teachers who are able to communicate to share ideas and ask for help at the click of a mouse. I am also a member of several dozen Tumblr education blogs.

     While at Pulaski County High School, I was able to see what a good working support system looks like for a professional. Ms. Bethany Schaefer, my cooperating teacher, was incredibly helpful in getting me to reflect on my teaching and improve it, while complimenting my strengths. I also received a ton of help from Mrs. April Snyder and Mrs. Anna Tickle, who were integral in my unit planning for Night, as they shared their materials with me. Without these professionals to guide me and offer support on the bad days, I would not have learned as much as I did.