Intro Letter of Shannon Gemmell

Hi! My name is Shannon Rose Gemmell . As a California native, I was born in Long Beach, and spent the first 12 years of my life in Victorville, CA. For my elementary schooling, grades k-6, I attended Puesta Del Sol. When 12, my family moved to Springfield, VA and that's where I spent my middle school years and my first year of high school. While in Virginia I attended Hayfield Middle School and Washington Irving. Oddly enough, my mascot from Washington Irving was the Headless Horseman, creepy but appropriate. My freshman year of high school I attended Robert E. Lee High School and loved it. After my freshman year my family moved back to California and I spent grades 10-12 at Fallbrook Union High School. After graduating from Fallbrook High I went to Brigham Young University-Idaho and got a bachelors degree in Sociology. Those were amazing years. I met some really incredible people and had the best roommates a girl could ask for. After I graduated from BYU-I, I moved back home to Fallbrook. Once back home I started attended a "single's ward" through my church. It is an organization of my church that is for Young Single Adults and that is where I met my husband Keith. We dated for about seven months and were married on August 8, 2008 (8-8-08)! Keith and I have a Scottish Terrier named Brodie; he is a handful but has a very sweet personality.

I would have to say that my experience with technology is pretty limited. I know how to do the basics but I am definitely not a technology whiz. I can create word documents and excel spreadsheets. I can e-mail, chat online, and maintain a Facebook page but I don't do much other than that. Oh yeah, I also know how to use my phone and digital camera too. I strongly depend on technology on a daily basis though. It's sad, but I can't go anywhere without my phone and I check my e-mail multiple times a day. I go a little crazy when I don't feel connected to the outside world. Anyway, I would have to say that since I have never used a Mac before this class that I am a PC person. I'm excited to get to know a Mac. Finally, I am currently using the Office 07 version of Microsoft Office. I was a little intimidated by the changes at first but I have now found that it is very easy to navigate around.

When applying to the College of Education the mission statement was actually not a reason why I applied to the school, but since I have had the opportunity to read it through a few times I have found that I really like what it stands for. In reading the College of Education Mission Statement there are actually a lot of topics and values that I value myself, but one factor particularly stands out to me. The part of the statement that I like says that it will prepare thoughtful educators. Throughout my learning years I have felt that some of my teachers didn't have much thought to offer and made the class and or subject very uninteresting. As a future teacher I need to always keep my mind actively involved and engaged. I need to seek out new ideas and be open to other peoples' opinions. In always keeping my mind active I need to commit myself to being a life-long learner; and that is another point of the mission statement that I like. The College of Education is committed to life-long learning and I want to inspire those around me to be life-long learners as well. Individuals become more interesting when they have educated thoughts and one only becomes a better person through life-long learning.