Hailey Ettinger
University of Colorado BoulderHailey Ettinger is an Elementary Education Major and part of INVST, a two-year academic program at CU Boulder. Hailey is studying our current education system as an intern with Public Achievement. She has expanded her awareness about how local public problems resemble larger problems that are national in scope and scale. Hailey hopes to shift our society by evolving how and what we are teaching to future generations. After she graduates from CU, Hailey envisions herself as an elementary school teacher in the Boulder Valley School District where she will work to close the achievement gap and diminish inequality and injustice in public schools.
Personal Statement
I would like to be considered for the Fellowship because it will give me the connections and support necessary to continue to grow my dedication to social change. I believe in the possibility of a paradigm shift in our society that brings more love, acceptance, empathy, and equity to all. Our current education system is lacking all of these crucial components that are needed to bring about social progress. In order to shift our society, we must evolve how and what we are teaching to future generations. Currently I am majoring in elementary education and I am in the INVST Program. After I graduate from CU I envision myself becoming an elementary school teacher. I feel that I can have the most impact working in a Title1 school located in a pocket of poverty. Typically, this is where students are experiencing the harshest effects of inequity and the achievement and opportunity gaps. The quality of the education they are receiving is usually lower than that of students attending schools located in more affluent areas. I want to contribute to finding solutions that give these students high-quality education to close these gaps.