The past two semesters at UMass Amherst have been motivating, exciting, and transformative. In the spring semester of my sophomore year, I enrolled in five courses, which ranged from classes pertaining to world religions and Native American literature to classes that focused on putting teaching English into practice. Languages, Literatures, and Cultures 115 is a requirement for getting my certificate to teach English as a second language, and it was one of my favorite courses from that semester. This class meant a lot to me, as I was once a part of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. I was assigned to tutor an international student, Tianyu Wang, who was from Beijing, China. During the course, I constructed my own lesson plans and lesson materials based on the skills that Tianyu wanted to improve while learning English. We met once a week for about an hour, during which I shared the lesson I had prepared, helped her with any assignments she had, and gave her the support she needed in her academic journey. Overall, I enjoyed the experience of being a teacher, and I am excited to apply the skills I learned to my career. This fall semester, I transitioned from living on campus in the dorms to living in an off-campus apartment, which was so exciting. I was enrolled in four English-focused courses this fall that introduced me to a variety of information and skills. My English 358: The Romantic Poets class was very interesting, as I got a formal introduction to poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This class also brought back memories, like, for example, while I was studying Coleridge’s Kubla Khan, I was brought back to having to memorize it in Mr. David Wilson’s class my freshman year at MVRHS. As I advance my academic career, I become even more grateful for the support that MVYouth has offered me. Thank you to everyone involved in this program and to those who are making my academic success possible!