As a teacher, I constantly learn, develop, and shape my own practices to best aid my students’ learning experience. A large part of enhancing the learning experience in my classes is through helping students develop and improve skills critical to real-world success (e.g., writing and verbal communication, incorporating feedback), strengthening their critical thinking ability (e.g., reading, critiquing, and discussing journal articles) and helping them understand the value of course concepts outside of the classroom (e.g., projects based on finding real-world examples of course content). To do this, I embrace two goals: 1) foster excitement for course material and 2) encourage the integration of this excitement into their everyday lives. These goals would not be possible if I were not setting my students up for success from day one. I provide the support and guidance each student needs for assignments, content comprehension, and event mentoring in graduate school choices, and I make students immediately aware of these goals. To achieve this, I incorporate three techniques into my pedagogy: 1) I do not give students answers to my questions (resulting in some awkward silences), 2) I have a “Questions with Taylor” session each day to address any lingering, anonymously submitted, questions to help all students feel comfortable asking questions, and 3) I make it clear that I am dedicated to DEI training in my own life to improve my teaching approaches and to ensure respect and acknowledgement for each students’ background. I found that by doing these things I witness my favorite aspects of teaching each semester—watching students enthusiastically engage with course content in a way that is applicable to their daily lives and fosters their writing and critical thinking ability, all while allowing them to emphasize and learn the value of their own voice and experiences!