Rosalie Frison

I have a wonderful support system. My husband is just really, really supportive. He's a phenomenal dad, and he's able to sort of juggle his career with family life, and so that allows me to have a little bit more time for myself to work on myself. I believe it takes a village, and so I do have help from anyone who's willing to give it - my in-laws, my parents, my sister. Having a strong support system, and then my husband who sees the value in education and the impact that it will have on our children, in terms of saying, you know, your mother has 3 degrees or whatever - having that be a way of inspiring our kids. I wanted them to see that, and I want them to know that things don't just happen, right? Like, there's a struggle, and I think that's one of the biggest challenges that I see for this generation in particular is their frustration tolerance and their grit. I think we need to sort of remind the young generation that you gotta work for what you want, and things don't just come to you.

Listen to your heart. Follow your gut. If something feels off or wrong, it probably is. And don't doubt what you know to be true. Don't doubt yourself. You're braver, you're stronger, and you're more capable than you know.

It's gonna be tough. There are going to be times when you doubt yourself, and there will also be times where you may tell yourself, this is not for me. Think about, when you're in those moments, think about one student. Just one. And if you feel like you've made an impact on at least one student, one child, you are doing your job. I think too often, teachers that are early on in their career, they want to save many, you know, as many students as they possibly can. But it's the little wins. It's the little wins. Take the little wins. You know, a student passed a test. You know, a student comes to you and is confident about something. Those are the wins, and if there's anything that I've learned, they're not going to remember the grade that they gave you, but they're going to remember the way that you made them feel, you know, on a human level.

Within education, you do have women. However, from my studies, typically, the more you go up in education, the more male-dominant it is. So on district level, on the superintendent level, tends to be all male dominated. And then you have the majority of teachers and assistant principals being female. And I want to change that. I think women are running the show, pretty much, within these academic settings. And I think that their value, in having them take on more responsibility, more - because I know of individuals who have spent maybe a year in a classroom who are now superintendents, and it's like, because you went to school and you did all that work. You know, like, I feel like there needs to be a little bit of a shake-up, a little bit of a change within the educational system, especially in the private schools.

Commitment is number one - making a commitment and sticking to it, whether or not it's going well or not. Whether that's finishing a sport to the end, or a job to the end, honoring that commitment. I think the other one is courage - to stand up for what you believe, and to be a role model. Always know that someone is watching you. And so be a role model for everyone around you, pretty much.