Olivia Gray
Biography: Hello! My name is Olivia Gray from Passaic, New Jersey. I am a senior attending the Passaic County Technical Institute in the Education and Human Services career and technical program. I uphold a weighted 4.3 GPA and am the President of my school’s Future Educators Association Club and Student Council Interact Club, as well as the NJFEA Center for Future Educators student leadership team. I am the Vice President of my school’s SkillsUSA club and the Northern Region President of the New Jersey SkillsUSA student officer team. I love to work with young children and get involved with community service projects and initiatives. My intended field of study is early childhood/elementary education with a minor or integrated with special education. I work part-time as an assistant teacher to infants and toddlers at an Early Head Start center and as a Five Below sales associate. By the end of my senior year, I plan to earn the Child Development Associate credential and then be able to teach a preschool classroom while pursuing my undergraduate degree.
Reaction Statement: I was in utter disbelief that I was named the scholarship winner. I truly can’t describe how grateful I am to know that the hard work and dedication I put into accomplishing this paid off. This opportunity revived my inner confidence as a writer after experiencing a lot of financial hardships and came a long way to where I am now. It feels extremely rewarding to have gained such a huge accomplishment this far in my high school career and use this award to forward my passion for dreaming and reach my dreams of being a professional educator!
