Introduction

Hey there! My name is Abby Clark and I am eager to start my traveling blog about my trip to Ireland this summer. Let me introduce myself a little bit.. I am a senior Early Childhood Education major at Henderson State University. I am currently doing my student teaching internship at Ringgold Elementary in the Benton School District. For the first eight weeks I am in a fourth grade math class and the second eight weeks I will be in Kindergarten. So far it has been an amazing experience! When I have free time, which is not too often, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, doing outdoor activities, playing with my dog, and watching a good TV show. My family is a very important aspect of my life! My mother, Deni, and father, Mike,  have been wonderful role models and I look up to them in so many ways! I also have a younger brother, Preston, who just started his first semester of college at Henderson as well! I am proud to have introduced him to HSU and he is loving the college experience so far!

We have been asked to tell something that we are passionate about... Something that I am truly passionate about is helping people. In high school I started doing a summer program called Ozark Mission Project. OMP is a week long mission project where high school students are able to get together and do mission work various places around Arkansas. OMP showed me that helping people in need was something that I really wanted to do with my life. If it weren't for my love for children and teaching I would be having a career that had to do with mission work. I also have had the experience to go on several mission projects with my church! I am actually looking into going on a mission trip to Cuba next December with a group from my church! If I didn't have to worry about time and money, I would spend my time traveling around the world and experiencing how other people live and helping people along the way.

I am also very passionate about children!! Children have a certain hold on my heart, which is why I have been called to be a teacher. I started to go to school wanting to be a nurse. After my first semester, I knew that was  not my calling in life. I took an education class to see if that was what I wanted to do, and it was like there was no going back. I come from a long line of teachers in my family and wanted to try and do something different. Now I am honored to carry on the teaching chain!

The only other time I have been out of the United States was when I went on a cruise to Jamaica,  Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. That was an awesome experience, but this trip to Ireland is my dream trip! I can't wait to venture through Ireland and take in all the beauty and history. I have been doing some research and the pictures are breath taking! I know it will be even more beautiful in person! Something I am really looking forward to about this trip is that my best friend, Shelby, is coming as well! This trip is going to be one to remember forever! My expectations for this trip are very high and I just know that those expectations are going to be exceeded! There is so much that I hope to learn about Ireland and the people that are also going on the trip!

- Abby