In this episode, we talk with Michelle Cravens who offers her perspective as an educator with many years of experience within different contexts and age levels. At the beginning of the podcast, Cravens shares how an early job at an Animal Shelter had a profound impact on her. At the shelter she cared for animals who had been abandoned and abused. She learned to nurture them and at times hold them tight as they left the pain of this world behind. She worked beside Class-D felons who had overwhelming compassion for the animals and an incomparable work ethic. This experience greatly influenced her as she continued to pursue a career in education. She has served as a middle school English/Language Arts teacher, an elementary school counselor, and a Bridge Program teacher in an alternative high school program. Michelle currently is a Middle School Counselor where she works as part of the Instructional Leadership Team in a CSI labeled school with one of the most diverse populations of middle school students in the state of Kentucky. In her school, 40% of the students are Multiple Language Learners, 56% are considered minority populations, and about 20% qualify for special education. Close to 80% of the student population fall into a lower socioeconomic status. Michelle is currently completing a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership at Northern Kentucky University.