Hayley Russelle

I was born in Toronto in 1998, and moved to the suburbs of Newmarket, Ontario at age 4. Growing up, I enjoyed what all children usually do – spending time outside with friends, swimming, dancing, karate, and playing pretend. My favourite thing to pretend to be was a teacher. When they asked us in kindergarten what we wanted to be when we grew up, my answer seemed to come naturally – a teacher. As I got older, I came to realize that my desire to teach stemmed from my love of helping others, and making connections with people. Throughout high school I volunteered as a classroom tutor at a local elementary school, working with small groups of students that needed any further assistance. So, when applying for university in grade 12, it seemed like the obvious choice to enter an education program; thus how I found myself at Laurentian University, studying Concurrent Education in the Junior/Intermediate stream, with a Biology major and a Geography minor.

Over the summers while in university, I was given the opportunity to work with a local school board as a counsellor at a summer school camp for students needing an extra month of preparation before grade 1. Through this program, the students were provided with additional reading and writing assistance, social interaction, and a more personal teacher-student interaction. Getting to experience a roll so closely related to teaching really solidified that I picked the right profession, and I look forward to sharing my passion for learning with the next generation.