My name is Erica Kempster and I am currently a teacher candidate at UNBC. I have been a part of SD57 throughout all of my education as I have lived in Prince George my whole life. I attended Buckhorn elementary school, which I really enjoyed as it was a small and community-centered school. After completing grades K-7 at this small school, I took the leap to Prince George Secondary School, where I graduated from in 2022. I started taking college courses at CNC in grade twelve, and continued my education there for two years, before advancing to third and fourth year course work at UNBC. I completed a Bachelor of Arts at UNBC in May of 2026, and then began the Bachelor of Education program in September of 2026, which I anticipate to complete in December of 2027. My education journey has been steady, and I am looking forward to completing my Education degree.
One teacher that I can recall who was most influential to me is my grade 1 teacher. This teacher has the kindest soul and she has made a positive life-long impact on all of her students. I remember always enjoying her class as we did a lot of hands on activities and crafts. This teacher influenced me the most because the first thing that I think of when I recall being in her class is that she led with kindness. Another reason why she was influential is because I remember telling her that I wanted to be a teacher when I grow up, to which her response surprised me because she told me that I was “too smart to be a teacher and should aspire for a more intellectual career”. This statement has always shocked me and been in the back of my mind when I tell people that I am studying to be a teacher. I did not let this comment influence my career choices as I think that being a teacher is one of the greatest, most challenging, and most rewarding careers.
A memorable learning experience that has been important in my learning journey occurred in a Calculus 101 class that I took at CNC. This was one of the first college courses that I took out of high school, and turned out to be a major learning curve, because I did not meet my learning expectations on the first try. I ended up failing the first test that we had, and I did not know what to do. I honestly was not used to failing because I always worked hard and did well in school, so this took a toll on my confidence when I realized that I needed extra help. I ended up getting a tutor to help me through this course, and because of this, I was able to better understand the material, learn a lot, and pass the course with a B-. This learning experience matters because it showed me that it is okay to ask for help, I will not always succeed on the first try, and to never give up.
My metaphor for teaching is skiing. I chose this metaphor for teaching because it is something that is a large part of my life and identity. Skiing as a metaphor represents teaching and learning because skiing is all about navigating unfamiliarity, maintaining balance, having fun, learning from mistakes, facing challenges that you cannot control, finding your own path, and being able to look back at how far you have come.