Impacting the world

Making an impact on the world is hard, especially in the world we live in now. But Mara Caylor ‘23 already knows how she’s going to make a difference, and she’s known ever since the second grade. After being influenced by her past teachers, in second grade, Caylor decided she wanted to become a teacher, and she hasn’t looked back since. Her passion for becoming a teacher has only grown, with each teacher adding their own advice and inspiration to her goal.

 Everyone has those teachers that have really changed their lives. Even Bill Gates gives credit to his math and drama teachers for helping him become who he is today. The kind of teacher who impacts their student’s lives and helps their students impact others is very rare. That is the kind of teacher that Caylor wants to be.

“I thought, I was made to teach, I just feel it, like, in here,” she said, putting her hands on her chest almost like she can’t quite find the words for that feeling inside of her. Many of us still don’t know what we want to be when we grow up, so imagine knowing and planning your future from the age of eight, and still sticking to it six years later. Nicole Mooney, Mara’s fifth-grade teacher, said that Mara has always shown a true passion for becoming a teacher.

“She has such a kind heart, and her compassion will make it easy to connect with the students,” Mooney said. Connecting with the students is exactly what Caylor wants to do. Make connections with the students, and impact their lives, then hopefully, that impact will grow and grow until the world has changed. 

“I want to impact kids, and to tell them, like, it’s ok, you are who you are, and you’re meant to be here,” Caylor said. 

Teaching isn’t just math and science, as a teacher you are these young children’s mentor. Caylor has a list of things to teach her future students as well as the required subjects.

“I want to teach younger generations, the things that I wish people knew now,” Caylor said. “For example, guns, I don’t like violence, it doesn’t change anything, I think you should use your words, which is kind of cheesy. I also want to teach them about climate change, because the kids are our future, so they should know about these things.”

Caylor also has a mantra she came up with in sixth grade, during School of the Wild, that she tries to live by every day. “Life is short, take risks.” By living by that mantra, Caylor tries to avoid regret, and live her life to the fullest. By teaching and fulfilling what she calls “her purpose,” she gets as much out of her life as possible. 

The world always needs more teachers. As Caylor says, “No one really wants to be a teacher, unless they have their heart set on it, like me, and the pay isn’t very good.” That doesn’t stop her though instead, it just encourages her, because when you have your heart set on something, nothing can stop you.”