Special Education – Autism Teacher

I'll be completely honest, I never wanted to be a teacher, but ever since I was in college, my mom would tell me that I would be a great one! I dismissed her advice as folly but little did I know that many of the activities and jobs that God would direct me to would prepare me for a career in education.

One of the first jobs that I had during college was being a summer camp counselor. The lessons I learned there are essential in how I approach teaching. I learned how to build an effective relationship with children that created an inner confidence which helped build a trust that I feel is essential in a student/ teacher relationship.

After deciding on majoring in Criminal Justice, my internship was at a maximum-security juvenile detention center where I mentored incarcerated high schoolers and taught them to read. Although I was placed in a school setting, I still had no desire to be a teacher.

After graduation, a friend who was working for a Christian youth organization in Newark, NJ, asked me to help him organize an after-school basketball mentoring program. Essentially, we would take kids off the streets once a week and build relationships with them around the sport of basketball. After a year, I knew that I wanted to work with children in some capacity for the rest of my life. Thats when I was led to go back to school to get my teaching certification.

Being a High School autism teacher, many of my lessons and activities are seen as "outside the box." Lessons are held within the classroom but are also implemented throughout the building and even outside of the school altogether. Although this might seem different to some educators, my belief about true education is centered on building a deep personalized mentoring relationship that has a foundation of love, respect, and true accountability. I believe that each student that I have in my classroom has been placed there for a reason and it is my job to meet them where they are at and provide a loving stable environment where they can flourish into the best version that they can be. This can look like anything from helping a student learn how to count money to helping another student overcome his deep-rooted fear of appropriate socialization with his peers. My passion for teaching is lived out in walking alongside them and assisting them to step into their potential and push themselves to be their own personal best and utilize their gifts, despite the difficulties they face.

Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant – Special Education

There are many factors that led me to pursue a career as an educator. The desire to help and serve students with unique learning needs lead me to become an educator after I graduated from college. Growing up as a child of immigrant parents, the importance of education was engraved in me. I started my career in Elizabeth as a Special Education teacher and now serve as a learning disability consultant within the child study team. I also chose this career to help ensure families from different backgrounds get access to the knowledge and quality education for their children. My greatest accomplishment being an educator/CST would be the relationships that I build with my students by listening to them, believing in them and being sensitive to their needs. I am proud to be a Child Study Team member, especially within the Elizabeth Public Schools.

In my role as a child study team learning disability consultant, I work both with the parents and the students. My job is to collaborate and work with the child study team to develop and implement IEPs for students with special education. As a part of my responsibility, I also conduct educational evaluations for our students to better understand their strengths and weaknesses in the areas of reading, writing and math. I also work with various agencies to assist my high school students in finding jobs and internships. I believe that what makes me an exceptional learning disability consultant is my empathy and compassion towards students who struggle communicating their wants/needs, and who, therefore, have difficulties succeeding in school. I regularly meet with all my students to review their progress in school and assist them in coping with school and family. Working at J. Christian Bollwage finance academy has given me the opportunity to continue making a positive impact on students with regards to their social, emotional, and educational needs.