Education
My Experience.
My career in education started when I began mentoring at-risk youth with Big Brothers & Big Sisters. Through that experience, I started to uncover my passion for working with students who might not fit the mold of the traditional brick and mortar setting. This eventually lead me to pursuing my license to teach Special Education in 2017 and then I continued my education by completing my Masters Degree in Special Education and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners in 2021. Throughout my Masters Degree program I decided that working in public education was not fulfilling what I really wanted to do which was to truly support students who have disabilities or students who don’t quite fit into the traditional brick and mortar school setting.
I truly believe that family/parent engagement is one of the most powerful ways to support students in having a successful education; however, I have observed this is often a missing component in many public education settings. I would often come home after a school day feeling defeated because I knew what many students needed to be successful but my power as a Special Education Teacher could only go so far.
My husband would tell me that I had to learn to “pick my battles” but I truly believe that when trying to ensure a student receives what they need to be successful, all battles are worth fighting.
Special Educators have a difficult job and I often say they have several roles crammed into one role. On any given day they can be a teacher, co-teacher, curriculum accommodator, evaluator, family liaison, mentor, counselor, and the list could go on! I desperately wanted to feel like I could be successful in my career without feeling like I could only be successful with some parts of my job but not others. I want to help families and students receive the support they need that I didn’t have the time to give while working within the constraints of the public education system.