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Hi my name is Courtney Richard, I am a freshman. I am majoring in SPED and planning on teaching high school SPED students. I have always wanted to work with special education not only because my brother has Asperger's but because I also took a class where I worked with many different forms of autism. I mainly worked with these two kids who had Down Syndrome and they were the sweetest people. Something unique about me is that I am the first girl in my immediate family to go to college.  

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Hi my name is Courtney Richard, I am a freshman. I am majoring in SPED and planning on teaching high school SPED students. I have always wanted to work with special education not only because my brother has Asperger's but because I also took a class where I worked with many different forms of autism. I mainly worked with these two kids who had Down Syndrome and they were the sweetest people. Something unique about me is that I am the first girl in my immediate family to go to college.  

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Hi! My name is Johanna McCarthy and I'm a freshman. I am majoring in Speech Language and Hearing sciences and want to be a speech pathologist one day. I've always been interested in special education because my little cousin has Down Syndrome, I volunteered at a special needs care center all throughout high school, i want to one day work predominantly with kids or people with special needs and i want to learn more about different disabilities. Somethings that are unique about me is that i like to cook, i am from New Jersey, and i work as an ice cream scooper during the summer.

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Hello everyone! My name is Kayla Lennon. I am a senior East Carolina majoring in Public Health with a concentration in Worksite Promotion. I am from White Lake, NC!  I took this course to learn more about special education due to the fact I will be working with the public and want to meet everyones needs. I can't wait to see all of what I learn during this semester. Something unique about me is I am a first generation college student!

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Hello everyone! My name is Kayla Lennon. I am a senior East Carolina majoring in Public Health with a concentration in Worksite Promotion. I am from White Lake, NC!  I took this course to learn more about special education due to the fact I will be working with the public and want to meet everyones needs. I can't wait to see all of what I learn during this semester. Something unique about me is I am a first generation college student!

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Hi, my name is Tyasia Owens Wright. I choose to take a special educations class because I wanted to learn more about special education. I am a nursing major and may come across some that is special Ed and I feel that this class would help me know a little bit more on how to handle certain situations. Something unique about me is that I love fruit and I dislike animals.

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My name is Bridgette. I am interested in special education because I want to connect with and assist anyone who requires additional assistance, and I think a career in special education will enable me to do so. One day, I hope to assist the blind and the deaf as well.

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Hi! My name is Shania Richardson and I am a senior majoring in social work. I am interested in special education because I plan on being a social worker in schools, hopefully elementary. To be a social worker in schools it is very important for me to advocate and work with children with disabilities. Something unique about me is that I am and half Native American from the Haliwa-Saponi tribe.

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Hi my name is Jessica Brezinski and i like to be called jess. I am interested in special education because i'm majoring in birth-kindergarten education and would love to be able to guide and teach children with disabilities as well. something unique about me is that i played soccer my whole life and im from long island, new york.

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Hey, my name is Derek Burris my intended major is bsw social work program. I am interested in special education because I want to be able to connect with kids in different ways and I believe this course will help me do just that. One intriguing fact about me is that I have a twin brother.

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Hi, my name is McKenzie Lopez. I prefer to be called Kenzie. Working and, learning about people with disabilities has been something I have had interest in for a long time. Throughout middle, and high school I was given many opportunities to volunteer in what we called life skills class. This class was for those who have disabilities and had a harder time in standard classes. Volunteering my time in these classes allowed me to gain strong relationships with these students. The time I spent in those classrooms helped push me to want to learn more about the special education field. A fun fact about me is I am a type one diabetic.

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Hello, my name is Caitlyn Graziani! My intended major is Physical Education. I'm interested in special education because I want to be able to help and guide kids. I want to be able to know how to help children with special needs as much as I can.

Something unique about me is that I've played softball since I was 6 and I also enjoy working out.

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Hello, my name is Kendall Simpson! I am an intended speech and hearing major and plan to get my master's to become a speech pathologist. I am interested in special education because all 4 years of high school I was in the student government association, and we helped our special needs classes every day. We would host events for the adaptive PE class and had so much fun getting to know them and putting a smile on their face. I want to be able to help kids with speech disorders.

One interesting fact about me is that I have danced for 7 years! I started dancing in the 6th grade and graduated from my team this year.

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Hi, my name is Ashley Bassett. I am interested in Special Education because I have worked with special needs children on multiple occasions. My first experience was in middle school when I worked at a camp at my grandma's church. Then in high school, I was the Teacher Assistant for the Middle School SPED class. I made a big connection with the kids I worked with. I refer to them as "my kids". Both of my cousins also work with Special Needs children. One teaches History and Math and the other in Physical Education. I am interested in learning more about the field of Special Education.

A unique fact about me is I work at a children's nursery and a restaurant.

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Hi, my name is Sarah Brehl. I choose special education as my major because for basically my whole life I have been surrounded by children with special needs. My cousin has autism, I have babysat a few children with down syndrome and every summer I work at a camp for special needs kids. At the camp, and babysitting I been introduced to the many teachers, physical therapists, and helpers in there everyday life which made me very intrigued to help even more.

On interesting fact about me is that I know how to play the piano, I have traveled to some amazing places, and am if all goes well I hope to study abroad to Italy my sophomore year.

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Shikima Barrett

My name is Shikima I like be called Kima. I am a mother of 4 kids 2boys and 2 girls.  I’m also employed by ECU Health Hospital.Before this name came they were name Vidant  Health. I have been employed with them for 18 years now.
I work as Secretary on Surgical Oncology/ENT unit.
This very busy unit but I like it cause I get to interact  with so many patients and families .I feel like my smile and commitment to unit makes a difference.
Doing this entire time of working at hospital, I had child with special needs. My baby boy was diagnosed with verbal apraxia it is very rare and also he has has Autism. Ever since then my passion for special gifts they are so gifted and knowledgeable. They learn in a special way and when they are loved they grow. It takes special people to teach them and take of them your surely have to have patience.
Special needs kids have a lot love but they have lots of frustration too and sometimes it’s hard trying to get Someone understand.They sometimes act out but with patience and love and understanding you can turn things around. so with class going help give me some more knowledge to help me with these special needs and even my own.

For fun I like travel and spend time with my family and church of course.

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Hi, my name is Layla Beals. I am an intended speech and hearing major. I am interested in special education because I have a cousin who is struggling in school and they are currently seeking the help that she needs. Her family is frustrated because they do not know how to help her. I think learning about special education will help me in my future career as a speech language pathologist, as well as prepare me for when I have children of my own some day. I believe that everyone deserves to be cared for in a way that tailors to their needs.

One fun fact about me is that I work for my family's seafood business.

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Hey, my name is Jeremy Jones, but I go by Evan. I am interested in pursuing special education because I am really close with my cousin who has down syndrome and seeing how much his teachers helped him really influenced me.

Something interesting about me is that I have diagnosed tourettes syndrome, which is another reason I am interested in special education.

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Hi there, my name is Lauren Hatcher. I am interested in special education because I currently work as a behavioral technician, working one on one with kids with autism. I have fell in love with the field and I hope to become a board certified behavior analyst one day. My major is psychology and my minor is human development and family science.
One fun fact about me is I used to be a competitive mixed martial arts fighter.

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Hi my name is Lana O’Sullivan. I am a speech and hearing major and i’m interested in Special Education because of my brother. My brother had low functioning autism and I am interested to learn more .Ever since my brother was diagnosed i would always go to his speech classes and help out at his school and i’ve  had a interest in this ever since.

One unique thing about me is that I’ve been playing volleyball since I was 10 years old to clear my head when i’m stressed.

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Hello!! My name is Emily McAvoy, I am a hearing and speech sciences major. I am interested in special education because my older brother was always talking to me about that being his major he seeked an interest in it. I looked more into it and what it was about and thought it would be so interesting to learn more in depth as well as it will lead me towards my major.

Something interesting about me is I have a learning disability, it is called visual processing disorder. So I have to hear and see it at the same time but the interesting part is I have learned to work around it and help navigate thanks to family and friends because they didn’t let me stop trying to work around it!

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Hi, my name is Dannielle Ashe. I am interested in special education because I do have a cousin that is special needs and required special education. I feel like this would be something that I am interested in because it gives me an opportunity to learn more in depth about special education. I would want to know not only for my cousin, but because I am a nursing major and I may encounter special needs children or adults along my career path and this gives me the chance to have some background knowledge.

Something unique about me is that I work out. I try to work out at least 3-4 times a week. I also know how to play the flute and the piccolo.

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Hi! My name is Darius Hicks. I am interested in children with special needs because I have many children in my family with special needs. None of them are the same and all of them struggle with their own issues. I really would love to learn how to help children with needs like theirs and what would be the best way to do so.

A fun fact about me is that I sing. I love to sing and have since I was very little. I also used to sing in my moms church when I was younger, but I preferred to sing at home. My go to song will always be “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Hudson.

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Hello! It's nice to meet you all. My name is Ny'Asia Dunning. I am interested in Special Education because of my little cousins. They're twins and when they were younger they had problems with their speech. I watched as their speech gradually got better over time after they got help from their therapist. After that I was super interested in Special Education and realized that I wanted to go down that path as a career.

Something unique about me is that I play the flute. I played in the band in high school and the name of the band is the "Hertford County Soul Sonic Force", (I recommend watching our videos on Youtube). Being apart of the band allowed me to do what I love and create a bond with many amazing people.

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My name is Ryan Ben-Saull, but my preferred nickname is RJ. I am interested in Special Education as I see it as a subject that will broaden my perspective on life and help me become more of an understanding person. Another point that interests me is that kids in Special Education require different learning methods than a conventional student. To gain an understanding about the different learning methods can enhance my personal creativity and ability to help a wider variety of people.

Something unique about me is that I love to play guitar, specifically nylon guitars for Spanish style songs. I also love to exercise. My favorite style of training is hybrid training, incorporating both calisthenics and weight lifting in my routine.

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My name is Melissa Scire and I will be your instructor this semester for Introduction to Special Education. I have been an Exceptional Children's teacher for 26 years working at all levels: elementary, middle, high school, and community college. I graduated from UNC-Charlotte with a bachelor's degree in K-12 Mild to Moderate Mental Handicaps in Special Education. Soon after graduation, I earned my National Board for Professional Teachers, and later I added Specific Learning Disabilities and Secondary English to my teaching license, and I completed my graduate studies here at East Carolina University with a concentration in Learning Disabilities.

I am excited to share my knowledge with you and help you on your journey. I am a passionate teacher, who advocates for change daily in my school and community. I am married and have two daughters, Lucia and Lila, who are both pursuing degrees. Lucia in Occupational Therapy, and Lila in Exercise Science. I have three dogs, who are just like three additional children, ages 5 (Mack), 6 (Luna), and 7 (Buddy). In my free time, I enjoy hiking, reading, and exercising with my family.

I am really looking forward to connecting with you this semester. Please feel free to reach out at any time.

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Hi, my name is Kara. I recently got my MS in Counselor Education with a Military and Civilian Trauma Studies certificate. I am interested in this certificate because since I was 15 from my first job as a day care teacher, I have worked with many different children. Some with Autism, some with other special needs, and some that were non-verbal. I wanted to take these courses so hopefully I can help these students and kids to the best of my ability when they start their journey in the school system.

Something interesting about me is I play the piano, I have played for about 16 years now. It is definitely my go to stress reliever. I also enjoy yoga and meditation and have found that to be helpful over the last couple of years in everyday life.