Family Mentorship Program (Spring 2014) In the spring of 2014, I was lucky enough to participate in a family mentorship through the University of Mary. I worked with a physical therapy student and we were able to work with a young boy who had Autism. We were able to go into their home and see what their family dynamics were like when they had a child with severe autism. I was able to learn a lot from this experience, especially with triggers, how their family dynamics changed, and all the resources that were in the community for children with Autism. This was a great experience for me to see a side of special education that I might not have been able to see or experience.
Special Education Practicum (Liberty Elementary School) In the spring of 2016, I was able to participate in a special education experience at Liberty Elementary School with Meghan Kleven, a special educator teaching students with learning disabilities. I experienced first-hand the diversity of students with disabilities, the various strategies, and the patience that it requires to meet ALL the needs of these students. Mrs. Kleven taught me a lot during this experience and never sugar coated anything. My main take away from this experience is the importance of relationships. Teaching doesn’t mean just teaching students the materials they need to know to succeed in academics; teaching is so much more than that.
Volunteer Hours for Practicum 1 In spring 2016, I completed my practicum 1 experience at Saxvik Elementary with Mrs. Phillips 4th grade classroom. This experience was a very unique experience in the sense that this was a very low social economic school and there was a lot of students that I had never really experienced before. A lot of these students didn’t have a stable income, a change of clothes, able to shower, didn’t always have a place to sleep, or food at home. This was something that I had never experienced and I learned a lot from this experience.
Attended Temple Grandin (Motivational speaker with Autism) at Mandan Middle School in the of Fall 2014