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Hershel Hillman is a native Arizonan. He graduated from Amphitheatre High in Tucson and is currently attending NAU with the intention of acquiring a degree in elementary education. He enjoys learning about the animals and plants that are common to the Sonoran desert. He especially likes children's books that illustrate the unique and even harsh quality of the western United States. He is also interested in the old cavalry forts that have been part of Arizona history and still remain today as museums, such as Fort Lowell in Tucson. Upon completion of his degree, Hershel would like to teach 2nd or 3rd grade students. He is looking forward to reading them many exciting desert tales and going on field trips to places like the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Sabino Canyon.

From the time of my birth until present, I have always wanted to be a teacher. I am the youngest of fifteen kids. I remember my older brothers and sisters teaching me how to read. I would sit down next to them with a book in my lap acting like I was reading. I became fascinated about being a teacher when I worked at Sunnyside School District. One thing that I noticed is that kids like to get a lot of attention. One way to give this attention is by sharing a book with them. When I was a monitor, I would go to different classes and observe how the teachers would teach their students. Most of the time, she would select literature that she thought the kids might enjoy and read them a story. If it was a good story, the kids were fascinated. Kids should be taught values and a good way to teach values is through a book. So throughout my teaching career, I will encourage my students always to read a good book, to read one that can teach something.