In a time of growing disruption and change across education, with burnout surging and engagement on the decline, reconnecting with your why—your core sense of purpose—has become essential. For both educators and students, purpose isn't just a guiding light— it's the foundation for resilience, meaningful growth, and sustained success.

In education, purpose isn't just a feel-good idea— it's grounded in research. When motivation is rooted in personal meaning, both teaching and learning become more impactful.

My why is rooted in a story much larger than myself. It begins in a home where love was abundant but resources were scarce— when sometimes we'd flip the light switch, and the lights didn't always come on. It wasn't often, but it did happen. My mother lit kerosene oil lamps and turned hardship into bedtime stories, when this happened. My why was shaped by emotional prayers heard through thin apartment walls, by a backpack that carried not just books but the weight of uncertainty, and by a community where WIC deliveries were a shared reality in our complex at SouthPark, not a shameful secret.

But more than anything, my why was shaped by my brother Kevin.

While I found safety and self-worth in classrooms, Kevin found judgment and misunderstanding. He was brilliant—curious, capable, and deeply insightful. But the outside environment—the streets, the systems, the stereotypes—pulled at him in ways school never countered. After facing threats and suspensions, my mother made the difficult decision to send Kevin to live with our aunt and uncle in Akron. For a while, the structure helped. There were mealtimes, expectations, and a father figure in Uncle Mel. But eventually, Kevin returned to Columbus—and so did the pressures.

As a teenager, Kevin's charm and intelligence shone through, but so did the frustrations of being unseen. He skipped classes but aced tests. He connected with the one teacher who saw him and earned an A in her French class—while failing the others. His behavior wasn't a reflection of his potential, but of a system that failed to nurture it. My mom, desperate to save him, sent him to live with my father. That didn't work either. And by eighteen, Kevin was a father himself. By nineteen, he was incarcerated.

I'll never forget visiting him in prison at thirteen—how cold the entry room felt, how violating the search was, and how heavy the silence became once we sat across from each other. His incarceration wasn't just a personal tragedy—it was a systemic one. He was failed by a structure that punished his challenges rather than understanding them.

And that's my why.

Why I stepped into education. Why I fight for equity. Why I believe that literacy is not a luxury—it's liberation. Because two children raised under the same roof should not have such divergent outcomes. Kevin didn't fall short—he was shortchanged. I succeeded not because I was better, but because the environment outside our home supported me differently.

From Head Start to Denison and Ohio State, each milestone in my journey was a testament to the people who saw me and lifted me. And now, my why is to be that person for others—to be what Kevin needed and what so many students still long for.

This is a part of my story- the painful distance between what is and what should be. It's for the student carrying invisible burdens, the educator searching for purpose, the leader committed to more than compliance, and the advocate daring to ask: What if we led with heart?

Kevin's story lives at the center of this work. Because while I climbed each step of the educational ladder, he was pulled into a system that closed doors instead of opening them. My why is to make sure no child's story ends like his.

Knowing your why isn't a luxury in education—it's a necessity. It grounds teachers in purpose, fuels resilience, and transforms daily tasks into meaningful work. When educators lead with why, they inspire—not just instruct. Their passion becomes the thread that connects content to students' lives.

For students, understanding their why brings relevance to learning. It turns education into a journey of self-discovery rather than a checklist. Purpose fuels engagement, deepens motivation, and helps students connect what they're learning to who they want to become.

Schools rooted in purpose become more than buildings—they become ecosystems of meaning. In a world that often focuses on what to do and how to do it, we must begin with why to do it in the first place. Because without it, we may achieve outcomes—but lose the very heart of why education matters.