I have been working in the Rochester City School District for seven years. I enjoy working with students every minute I am there. My goal for the students is that they get the best education they can from me.

I love getting up every morning and going to work because I know that I will be seeing their smiling faces. I work just as hard as my students because, while they are learning from me, I am learning from them. I consider them my daytime family. They are all my children during the school day. I would be lost without them and I know others feel the same way I do.

I could not imagine working anywhere else. I am a school-related professional and I am currently in college for my teaching certificate. The students are my world and I will do whatever it takes for them to succeed.

(Kristine Hooker is a member of the Rochester Association of Paraprofessionals.)