“Hey Evan, you’re going to be president one day,” when one of my teachers told me this in middle school, it was one of the many memorable moments that Twinsburg City School District provided that helped push me into my current career path and accomplish many goals along the way. My name is Evan Smith, and I am a Global Process Engineer, Skin Care Digital Lead, and BEU CT President at Unilever. I currently live in Connecticut and graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2017and graduated from THS in 2012. Throughout my childhood in Twinsburg, many teachers, coaches, programs, and principals have truly had a positive impact on my life. I moved to Twinsburg when I was 8 years old and started in the 3rd grade at Bissell with Belinda McKinney (formerly Ms. Scott) as the principal. This is where my journey to becoming a Chemical Engineer started. I always tell people how Ms. Scott took 2 other gifted students and I to Cable 9 News where we got a chance to see the set and be interviewed on TV. I shared how I like mixing things together and once tried to make a toothpaste concoction out of cleaning supplies and things you find in the bathroom, and then tried to give it to my brother. Ms. Scott creating this experience for select students really stuck with me and provided a story about my spark for my interest in math and science.When I then moved into Dodge and was enrolled in the honors program, I stuck with roughly the same 32 kids in my classes for the rest of my k-12 career. Being able to learn at a pace that aligned with my aptitude for learning and be with a group of students that learned the same way, really allowed for me to grow and be confident in trying to excel and be a smart kid. I remember enjoying my math and science classes because the teachers made them both fun and challenging. We did experiments in Ms. Michelson’s class in 4thgrade, which really opened my eyes to science and the lab. Then in the 5th grade we got to understand an assembly line and the effects on efficiency. Then in the 6th grade I was introduced to inventing products and the development process through invention convention. I was pushed to excel past my expectations by trying to skip another grade level in math with Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Booker taught me how to follow my own will and make decisions on my own understandings rather than just by what is handed to me. Also, we were introduced to different career options through a quiz program we took and saw how different classes lead to different careers. Then in 7th and 8th grade the curriculum allowed me to explore my hobbies and trades used in the adult world with woods class, band, home economics, art, sports, acting, and Spanish. Here is where the teachers really empowered me as an individual to grow and I got to learn more about myself. This is also where Mr. Davis motivated me to lead and become president in all the groups I join. Mr. Lipnosinspired me to become an inventor and put my science skills towards inventing new products. Mr. Ciborek allowed me to explore acting and drama and helped with memorization. Then in High School I was able to pick up more skills and become well rounded while also focusing on excelling in math and science. The curriculum taught us about scheduling and planning when picking out our classes for the year. It allowed for exploration into new areas with plenty of electives to choose from. It allowed for a challenging environment with Honors and AP classes. It created teamwork, leadership, and spirit with the different sports teams. Then the individual teachers provided great support, mentorship, career advice, counseling, coaching, and many other things. Mrs. McPherson not only taught us AP Calculus, but prepared us for taking courses in college and helped make Calc 2 a breeze once I got to Purdue. Teachers like Ms. Kmet, who were coaches and teachers, pushed me to excel “on and off the field” and taught the importance of bringing your A game to everything you do. Mr. Hogue created a mentorship program for the African -American students and helped connect under and upper classman, keeping many students on the right track and setting examples for kids that may not have seen them before. And Mr. Porincheck showed us how to be passionate about something,through AP Trig, even if others may not find it interesting. All in all, the staff and the TCSD have given me examples to look up to, lessons to take with me through college and my career, experiences that opened my eyes to new possibilities, and opportunities to give back  and understand the true meaning of community. I would not be where I am today without the support and guidance I’ve received over the years and am truly thankful and blessed to have been a Twinsburg Tiger.