Listen to Your Heart and Dream!

My journey to where I am today.

After six years of teaching Special Education, I have resigned from my position. There were many aspects of teaching that I loved and thoroughly enjoyed many of my co-workers. I also learned multitudes from people who had been in the field longer than I had.

At the same time, I was frustrated almost all the time. I didn't realize until the past year that I've been a Special Education Advocate longer than I've been a Special Education Teacher. I didn't know all the laws, but I always wanted what was best for everyone!

As a sophomore in high school, I joined Best Buddies International. My best friend had told me about it because she was one of the students in the Life Skills classroom. We'd been friends since second grade and I'd been advocating for her and providing opportunities for inclusion since eighth grade.

By my senior year of high school, everyone in my graduating class knew that she was going to be included in ALL of the senior activities. I wrote her name on all the lists and she participated in everything! Spending four years helping out in the Life Skills program and participating in Best Buddies led me to study Special Education.

I soon discovered that while I was able to help students, I was part of a system that was hindering them. The majority of the students I worked with needed help focusing, relaxing, and being comfortable in their own skin. I discovered yoga and it helped me with all of these, so I pursued training in yogakids. Within the confines of a school building, students didn't always qualify for services and those who did got the minimum, not what they needed to make the most progress. I began tutoring on the side.

I continued to watch students slip through the cracks, parents get pushed aside, and I didn't have a voice in the system. I've dedicated myself to learning about Dyslexia and other disabilities. In the process, I'm learning more about the laws and how to help parents have a voice!

By combining yoga, tutoring, and advocacy, the dream in my heart is to help kids discover who they are meant to be. In addition, my aim is to help children and families find a voice so that they can become who they are meant to be!