Kelsi Cadiente - Charles and Miriam Utt Scholarship

When graduation is brought up, a hint of sadness flickers on Kelsi Cadiente 's face, but she immediately covers it with a broad smile. "It's going to be so hard being away from so many people my own age," she muses.

Kelsi has spent the last few years as a liberal studies major, working hard towards her dream of becoming a junior high science and math teacher. Her decision to become a teacher started in high school. "I started working at a day care and saw how I connected well with the students," she reflects, "especially the troublemakers. They are the ones that fascinated me." A few years later she served as a taskforce worker at Mt. Ellis Academy in Montana. It was after her year in Montana that Kelsi knew she was making the right decision, because she saw how much of a difference she could make on students' lives.

Kelsi came to PUC her freshman year from out of state, she is originally from California, so the move back felt good. She chose PUC because she knew it was a good school. "I knew I would have a good education here," she states. "I knew it would be more challenging and more in my element because I'm a California girl."

She does not regret her decision, and found the education department to be helpful and supportive. "They not only taught you how to be a teacher," she muses, "but they taught you how to be an adult and a well-rounded person." Overall, Kelsi believes that it is a good program that prepares future teachers for the classroom.

Her preparation was awarded last year when she was given the Charles and Miriam Utt Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes an education major for their commitment to education. "I was sort of shocked," Kelsi admits. "I actually won an award. It was nice to know that my hard work paid off for something." She firmly believes that such a reward for her hard work motivated her to work even harder the next year.

Kelsi is not only academically active: One of the best experiences she had at PUC was being a Resident Assistant. For her, the greatest aspect of being an RA was the opportunity to be an older sister for so many girls.

She carried this passion into her student teaching. Kelsi completed her student teaching requirements at Minnie Cannon Elementary in Middletown. After leaving PUC, she plans to attend La Sierra University to finish her graduate degree.

When asked why she loves being a teacher, there's no hesitation in her answer: "I get to be a kid, and I'm not sitting in a desk anymore," she says. "I get to be up front, plan activities for my kids, and make learning fun."

In her spare time, Kelsi enjoys doing science projects for fun, making bulletin boards, cooking, game nights, and reading