Meet Jack: Special education

I love working with students with disabilities and there is no greater feeling than watching a student succeed in something they have been struggling in.  I first thought I wanted to go into GENED, but I quickly discovered that SPED was where I could make the greatest impact in others' lives.  

I had an 11th grade history teacher that was my inspiration and ultimately convinced me to go into teaching. He told me that I have a great personality for the classroom, and he could tell that I wanted to go into a career where I could help people. He was very persuasive and convinced me to apply to Western and go through the program.

All four SPED professors (Sarah Summy, Rena Vanderwall, Kate LaLonde, and Megan Walsh) have all been incredibly inspiring for me. Even when the program gets difficult at times, they are very reassuring and willing to help with anything you may need. They are all extremely intelligent in their field and they know what it's like to go through a similar program.

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -Thomas A. Edison

I have completed 4 pre-internships throughout my program, and they all have been positive experiences. Something that is great about the internship program is they make sure you are placed in all types of settings so you get a taste of all types of classrooms you may encounter in the field. 

The hockey games are rowdy. You can’t help but join in on the hostility when you go to them.

I would say that if you want to be the most prepared teacher you can be coming out of you undergraduate, this is the place to be.  I could not imagine having more caring teachers who really want to help you learn and grow. WMU also provides the most in-classroom experiences of any school in the state and that is really where you learn how to become the teacher you want to be.