I love being a teacher especially when my students accomplish great things. I want all my students to go places, achieve their goals, and be the best they can be. That is why I am a teacher, and I love it.
But nothing, I mean, nothing made me happier than being told that my son Gabriel received an appointment to West Point. I am beyond EXCITED!
When I moved from Korea as a 23-year-old college dropout, I never imagined that my son would be accepted to the one of the best colleges in the United States. I also didn’t imagine that I would be teaching English and getting my doctorate in Education.
Since I moved to the United States, I have had many challenges. Aside from having to learn to speak English, my family has experienced a serious illness and financial difficulties resulting from it. As a senior English teacher, however, one of the things that I tell my students often is that one should never give up. I tell them one of my favorite lines from a hilarious Broadway musical Spamalot is “I am not dead yet” because it is so true. When I dropped out of college during my senior year with only 6 months from graduation to come to the United States and didn’t return because I married my husband, my parents stopped speaking to me for nearly 15 years. They treated me as though I was never going to recover from any of it. However, now they are beyond thrilled that I have a career that I love and my son will have a chance to attend West Point.
I am not sure whether he will choose to attend West Point or not. We still have to see what other colleges he will be accepted. But for now, I am a proud mother of my son who wants to choose a life of service to this country that has given me and my family so much.
Gabriel. I love you, and I am so very proud of you!
Kip Glazer's Blog 