I am blessed to have the best support team in the world! The first two people I would include in my leadership community of practice support team would be my mother and my brother. My mom is very much a concrete thinker, my brother is an analytical thinker, whereas I am a creative thinker. Both of them being different thinkers allows us to have conversations and for them to point out certain things about concepts and conflicts that I may not notice. They are both my biggest support systems as well, so they know me inside and out. Having them on my team would keep me grounded in who I am and in my leadership style. They are the people I go to when I need advice and want to feel better after something goes wrong. They provide me with a safe space when needed. This may seem funny, but I would include my dog, Bear, in my leadership community of practice support team. Bear is the perfect example of an animal that provides emotional support. Anytime I need to rant, I rant to my dog. Although he can’t respond verbally, he seems to have the perfect response physically by providing me with a lot of love through his endless snuggles.

In considering the fourth and fifth person I would include in my leadership community of practice support team, I have selected my direct supervisor, Sara Wetzel, and my co-worker, Cody Eoff. Cody has been a mentor to me since the beginning of my teaching career. He was my mentor teacher in 2022, and after I left to teach middle school theatre within the same district, we stayed connected. When the Assistant Director position became available at the school where he is the Head Director, we talked about the potential of me getting the job. Thankfully, I did get the position, and I have learned so much from him this past year. Cody and I are very similar in our leadership styles and can read each other like a book. We communicate with our eyes and know how to support each other in different ways. I am grateful for his feedback and his example. Sara Wetzel is the Theatre Supervisor for my school district and is a great support system. She has given me a lot of advice, and we have grown closer since my internship with her last summer. I know if I have any questions, I can reach out to her.