Sixteen-year-old Keiren D. Minter, a sophomore at Watson Chapel High School, recently won first place in the Educators Rising Moment Competition at the southern region conference for the Educators Rising organization. He will go on to compete in the national conference in June.
Minter is already on his way to becoming a great educator, according to Teki Hunt, director of the 4-H Youth Development Program for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Minter is a regular participant in UAPB's 4-H programming. For his recent win, Minter earned a plaque, certificate, medal and gift card.
"Keiren has a true passion for gaining and sharing knowledge," Hunt said. "During his three years of involvement with UAPB's 4-H programming, he has always demonstrated a willingness to help his peers. We at UAPB congratulate him on his win and are confident he will do a great job at the national competition."
For the regional competition, Minter wrote and delivered a speech about his personal beliefs on the power of education and why he aims to pursue a career in the field.
"I want to break the stereotype that future generations are not going to do anything great," he said. "I would like to give back to my community the education that has been bestowed upon me.''
During a video interview with the Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative, Minter shared some of his takeaways from the regional conference. He said listening to speeches by teachers and college students made him want to become an educator more than ever before.
"I can't see myself doing anything other than teaching," he said. "I got the chance to job-shadow teaching little children once. Having them look up to me made me want to become a better person. Having the chance to teach them something different that they didn't know could stick with them was really inspiring."
Minter's involvement in UAPB's 4-H programming is through the Students of Achievement and Responsibility after-school and summer program. Last year, he attended the National 4-H Summit for Healthy Living in Washington, D.C., as a teen ambassador.
He also participated in the Ag Innovators Experience, which is sponsored by Bayer, and gave a presentation titled "Curbing Our Carbon Appetite" to a class of fifth graders at Coleman Elementary School in the Watson Chapel School District.
According to the organization's website, Educators Rising strives to cultivate a new generation of highly skilled educators by guiding young people on a path from high school through college and into their teaching careers. Educators Rising works with aspiring educators who reflect the demographics of their communities and who are passionate about serving those communities through public education to change the face of teaching.
Will Hehemann is a writer/editor at the UAPB School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences.