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“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."
~Barack Obama~
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Like most other kids, I went through my list of what I wanted to be when I grew up: a lawyer, a psychologist, and oh yes, a pediatrician. After enduring an internship while earning my Bachelor’s degree, I soon found out that pursuing a career as a lawyer would be a bit too boring for me. In addition, I initially declared my major in undergraduate school as a psychologist. However, I didn’t fully grasp at age 18 what job opportunities would truly await me if I continued with that field of study. Furthermore, I pondered more about becoming a pediatrician, however, I concluded that my fear of math was overwhelming and thus I decided against that choice.
This all changed for me when I began reflecting over the years about the scores of students who had been or were in the process of being diagnosed/labeled with a plethora of disabilities including LD, ED, SED as well as Autism. Initially, it didn’t affect me much because this was a part of my job. It was only a label! Right? Wrong! As I began researching more about SEL, school climate & culture, another world opened to me that triggered a desire for me to learn even more about Trauma Informed Practices, Social Emotional Learning and both impact academics and life, overall. Since then, my thirst has led me to explore doctoral level programs that I could enter to further acquire the specific skillset and training to service this population of students whom I have contact with daily as well as quench my thirst for being a life-long learner.