Pride Inc. Fall 2015-Present I have been working for Pride since I was a sophomore in college. Pride is a great organization that helps individuals of all ages who have disabilities. Pride is split up into two groups, one group for ages 1-17 called Youth Mentorship Program and then second the people aging 18 and up called ISLA. With my job as a Direct Support Professional, I have the opportunity to work in both areas. Within ISLA, I go into the individuals houses, group homes, and apartments and spend time with the clients. We sit and talk about life, go out shopping in the community, go to movies, and sometimes go out for dinner. My job is to help keep the individuals out in the community as much as possible. As a Youth Mentor, my job is to pick up younger individuals from school and either help them with their homework at the Pride building, take them out places in the community, or hang out in the Pride playroom. This job has been so rewarding because I am able to see how much an individual grows over time and see the things they are able to do now that they couldn't do months ago. Pride Inc. is an amazing organization which I am proud to be apart of.
Elementary Practicum Block 1: Spring 2017 I saw a lot of diversity within my Block 1 practicum at Dorothy Moses. In the third grade classroom I was in with Mrs. Vilhauer. There were so many students who didn't have great home lives and were really struggling with their school work because of those home situations. Mrs. Vilhauer had to report situations that students would tell her that happened at home on more than one occasion within the two weeks I was there. Being a part of this really opened up my eyes and helped me see what some of my future students could potentially be going through. I was thankful enough to have Mrs. VIlhauer there to tell me how, as an educator, you should be dealing with the situation. Not only were there several students who didn't have the best home lives but there was also many students who had some form of a disability and were seen by the special education teacher and other specialists. This classroom had so much character and every student accepted one another. These students felt safe when they were at school and felt as though they could tell Mrs. Vilhauer anything and everything because they trusted her. This is the kind of classroom I want to have. I will strive to be like the teacher Mrs. Vilhauer has become.
Special Education Practicum Spring 2017 My special education practicum at Highland Acres Elementary School with Mrs. San Jose was an amazing diversity experience. I learned so much from Mrs. San Jose in the short time I spent there. Mrs. San Jose has only been teaching for a couple years so it was nice to be able to relate to someone closer in age and talk about what the first years of teaching as a special educator is like. Mrs. San Jose introduced me to a number of individuals she saw. Mrs. San Jose visited with at least 5 students each day and most days saw the same student more than once. I saw individuals who needed an aide with them every minute of the day to individuals who only needed to meet with Mrs. San Jose for 20 minutes twice a week. I was able to see students who had severe intellectual disabilities, such as Down Syndrome and Autism, as well has students who had minor learning disabilities. This experience is what helped me to realize special education was the path I wanted to pursue.