Katelin Power

Hello, my name is Katelin Power. I am 28 years old and pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education. I grew up in Minnesota as a victim to ACE's. I endured mental, physical, and sexual abuse for nearly 17 years. I had no outlet, no support, no trusted adults to confine in. I was alone. It took its toll and I struggled academically on top of all the other things I was dealing with. By the time I was 10, I was In and out of mental institutions and spent more time living in an institution than I did at home. My grades dropped drastically and only continued to do so over the years. I was barely passing my classes and eventually I had to repeat my senior year, but because I was so infuriated with my home life and my school, I opted to drop out. At which point, I only continued to go down hill with my life. At the age of 18, I was in and out of abusive relationships, struggled with drug addiction, and continued to be in and out of hospitals and institutions. This continued till I was 25, when I had a come to Jesus moment. I moved back home, got clean, and started over. I worked several jobs, mainly ones that involved helping others. I tried to keep my life simple and work on my recovery. It was a challenge and I did slip up here and there, but fast forward to 2020 and everything changed. I followed my family to Indiana after they moved two years prior. We used to have a family business that was stationed in Wisconsin, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak we were forced to shut down. After attempting to move and stay in Wisconsin, the bond with my family was stronger than my desire to stay up north. When I moved to Indiana, I didn't have my High-School Diploma, I wasn't even considering college. However, things changed when I found myself graduating with my GED shortly after arriving in Indiana. I was still without a job so I made that my priority first. I was hoping to jump back into the Healthcare field since at that time my passion was to work my way up to an LPN. Unfortunately, there were no places taking my application. It wasn't until I received a message from a company on indeed asking if I was interested in being a Lead Preschool Teacher. Now keep in mind, I had no experience with teaching a class, no education, nothing and yet they wanted to meet with me. I walked out with the job after that and that interview is what kick started these chain of events. I am now a part if the Honors Society, I have made my way onto the Deans List, and I am pursuing a degree as an Early Childhood Educator because I found my passion. I found my purpose in teaching. Due to the life I lived, the choices I have made, and how far I have come, I found my freedom.
I found my voice.