*The following is a message from Raquel Perez-Granados, Recipient of the Thelma and Kasper Ingebritson Scholarship

I am a Liberal Studies/ Elementary Education major and recipient of the Thelma and Kasper Ingerbritson Scholarship. I have learned so much from my time here at HSU. I get so much hands on experience with kids that I'm able to visualize what I will be doing in the future. Having these experiences make me really confident in knowing this is what I want to do with my life.

Since I have been here, I have been a part of a pilot program where I go to the Arcata Elementary School and get to work with children and teachers who have been doing this job for a while. I get to build skills that you can’t read about in a textbook. My favorite professor is John Lee, I've had him for two semesters and his teaching skills really give you a good perspective of what the job entails. 

Once I graduate I want to get my teaching credential here at HSU. I want to teach in San Diego, where I grew up, so I can give back to the area that helped me get to where I am now.  My teachers were all amazing and I want to be a teacher like that for future youth. My kindergarten teacher is part of the reason that I want to be a teacher today. I grew up down the street from her and we would always bring her dinner in return for practice ‘teaching‘ lesson plans for my little sister. I have actually stayed in touch with her and it is so great to share what I have been learning with her. I still see her as a role model.

I am SUPER grateful for this scholarship and for making my learning goals possible. I am the first person in my family to attend a university. It was very scary coming into school and not knowing right off the bat how I was going to pay for everything, but once I received this scholarship it has been such a relief, and keeps me super excited for learning and following my dreams for the future. I am so grateful to the people who donate and keep students like myself in college.