Samantha Brown, 13, lives in Spring Mills, PA and attends the Penns Valley Jr./Sr. High School. She shared that her friends and family call her Sam instead of using her full name. In her free time, Sam takes part in horse-back riding, drawing, and being around animals. She mainly turns to her friends for advice because of how much time she spends with them on a daily basis. Currently, Sam feels that her future job will involve childcare because she enjoys working with kids and can keep them under control, however, she would prefer to work specifically with ages 4-5. She believes that many events in her life have led up to this passion for childcare, including her previous knowledge of the topic.
The first instance that Sam can think of where she had to care for something was a hermit crab and fish. With this task, she had to think of what the creatures needed and how all of that rested on her shoulders. She said that she felt as though there was a lot of pressure and responsibility resting on her and no one else. At the same time, Sam’s main source of motivation was remembering that she could raise the hermit crab and fish however she felt was right without others telling her exactly what to do. Above all, looking after her rabbits and keeping them healthy is the biggest event in her life today that transfers over to her love for working with children. If this passion is not as strong in the future, or if something prevents her from pursuing childcare, Sam said that she would also be interested in farming, starting a pet store like her mom, or possibly something else related to agriculture.
At some point in her lifetime, Sam would like to raise a child of her own and watch them as they grow. For the time being, she does not think that she wants to attend college after graduating high school, but would rather take a gap break to figure out her next steps. Sam would eventually like to own and run her own business, but she says it will all depend on her finances at the time. To help this dream come true, she hopes to get a stable job working with children before graduating. This will hopefully help her raise money and learn more along the way.