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My name is Nicole Plaia and I am a passionate early childhood educator. I currently teach 2nd grade on Long Island and previously taught Kindergarten in the same district, as well as 2nd grade in the DOE 2 years ago. I also work as an ABA therapist and Parent Trainer for a company on Long Island. I love working with students of different abilities and am a huge inclusion advocate. Some of my favorite things, besides teaching, include reading, listening to music and going to concerts, spending time with friends and family, and painting/crafting. I have lots of different favorite quotes but currently my life motto is, "See the light in others and treat them as if that is all that you see." I believe that my personality has always reflected this quote and that it applies even more now as a person working with special needs students.

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Hi everyone, my name is Andrew Duong. I have been an Elementary School Private Tutor for 3 years. I work with children from grades 3 to 8. I mainly teach students ELA & Math. In addition to my tutoring business, I also have an online coaching business where I help people reach their lifelong fitness goals. I also plan on pursing another career in Personal Training because I have a strong passion for promoting a healthier lifestyle and competing. Aside from that, working with children and getting into the fitness industry taught me that everything requires patience and dedication. During my years in grad school, I am looking forward to learning more on how to work with children with special needs because I love challenges and making a difference.

My life motto is to Seize the day; try to make the most with what you have and eventually, that something will become even bigger, whether it is a dream or a goal.

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Hey everyone! My name is Lisa Ombalino. I currently work at a Preschool/Daycare School. I work with children from the ages of 2-12 years old. There are a handful of children at my workplace that have special needs, which is one of the main reasons I decided to pursue my Masters in Special Education. I want to feel confident that I am helping a child with a disability  the best way I can, I do not want to doubt myself with thoughts like "I could have done more."
A few of my favorite things are the gym, food, and the ocean (sharks.) I love to travel and experience what the world has to offer, I am a firm believer that there are just some things in life that a classroom cannot teach you. I notice that my life motto tends to change as I move forward with life, but as for now my two life motto's that I stand by are
"don't stress over things that are not in your control" and
"money comes and money goes, so travel as often as you can"

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Hello everyone, My name is Rosanly Liz. I am a new teacher at District 75 k-2.  I am super excited for this coming year as it is my first year having my own classroom. I was a paraprofessional for two years, so I definitely feel ready. I am currently pursuing my Master Degree in Special Education 1-6.  I have an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. As you guys can see I wasn’t sure what path I was going to take. Things changed when my family and I learned that my younger brother was diagnosed with two different disabilities. This was very hard for my family and I. Here I am now, a Special Education Teacher.  A little about me, I am a very down to earth person, I come off as very quiet and shy but once I get comfortable, I am the total opposite. Bedsides school and work, I enjoy working-out spending time with my family and friends.

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Hello everyone, My name is Rosanly Liz. I am a new teacher at District 75 k-2.  I am super excited for this coming year as it is my first year having my own classroom. I was a paraprofessional for two years, so I definitely feel ready. I am currently pursuing my Master Degree in Special Education 1-6.  I have an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. As you guys can see I wasn’t sure what path I was going to take. Things changed when my family and I learned that my younger brother was diagnosed with two different disabilities. This was very hard for my family and I. Here I am now, a Special Education Teacher.  A little about me, I am a very down to earth person, I come off as very quiet and shy but once I get comfortable, I am the total opposite. Bedsides school and work, I enjoy working-out spending time with my family and friends.

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Hello, my name is Katiuska Sosa and I am currently working in a public school located in district 9. I am currently a Visual Arts teacher for an elementary school (K-5). I graduated my undergraduate in CCNY with a major in art, minor in education with a concentration in teaching K-12. I decided to enter the Special Education graduate program because I have realized the lack of support that is given to students with disabilities. In addition, as a Art teacher I teach all students in the building which includes ICT, and self contain classes, and I would love to understand and help every student reach their goals with the help of art as an outreach and support system. In addition, I would love to include strategies that would help them in my daily lesson plans (differentiation). Everyone who enters my classroom deserves the same opportunity to reach the goal.

Since I was little I always wanted to become a dentist which opened a path to work at a dental office. I work at a dentist office on the weekend and I feel dentistry has so much components to the arts. I LOVE scary movies. I enjoy riding my bike around NYC. I enjoying going on adventures such as hikes, camping, and nature walks. I believe nature brings a side to everyone that allows them to define their inner joy at ease. As mention during class, I am a “goal getter” I will never give up on task, project, or mission. I would cry out of frustration but never give up on the over-whole goal. I believe I will learn a lot of skills and strategies in this course and can’t wait to apply them to my classroom. Looking forward to a great semester!

Everyone is in this world for a reason! You will shine as you discover your reason.

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Good evening everyone! My name is Manisha Dyal. I grew up in Long Island. I previously worked as a teacher aide in Baldwin. I am currently employed as an elementary substitute teacher in Freeport. I completed my Bachelors Degree at York College. I majored in Interdisciplinary Studies Teacher Education Grades 1-6.  I am pursuing a Masters Degree in Special Education Grades 1-6. I enjoy spending a lot of time with my family. In fact, my brother is getting married this weekend, so I'm incredibly excited to see all of my family. A Guyanese wedding is literally a week long event, so it's been a crazy week. I also enjoy cooking a wide variety of food. I like to cook Italian food as well as Guyanese food. Also, I enjoy traveling. Of all the places I have traveled, I would say that Santorini, Greece is a must see! My life motto is inspired by Maya Angelou's famous quote, "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style." I wish you all the best for the new semester!

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Hi everyone! My name is Alanna Kowalski and I grew up here in Manhattan attending NYC Public Schools. For the past 4 years I have been teaching in Mott Haven (in the Bronx). Currently I teach Kindergarten and am the grade team lead, but in the past I taught 2nd grade. I also teach guided reading and intervention to 1st and 2nd grade students. I went to CCNY for undergrad (after a brief stint at University of California Santa Barbara), and received my Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education. I love trashy reality TV shows, Harry Potter and spend all of my free time hanging out with my family and friends. My life motto is to keep trying and don't give up even if you stumble, and this is something I try to pass along to my students.

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Hi, I am the course instructor and I am thrilled to be teaching this course again because I love... children, learning, helping people and educators, reading & writing, nature, jigsaw puzzles, movies, animals, and dancing!  I also love to laugh, but I take educating students, esp. SWD & ENLs, very seriously. I have two Masters of Science in Educational Leadership and Special Education with bilingual certification (plus TESOL) from City College, BFA from FAU, and former NYU-Tisch scholarship recipient. I am also an Adjunct Professor at Hunter College (depends on semester), and I am an Asst. Principal by day. Favorites:  Books "No Greater Love" by Mother Teresa & "Nothing's Impossible" by Lorraine Monroe Songs "Amazing Grace" and anything Lauren Diagle. Movies: Avatar, Interstellar, City of Angels, Ever After. Life Mottos: "We cannot do great things in life. We can only do small things with great love" (Mother Teresa), "Be the change you want to see in the world" (Gandhi), and "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” (Einstein). * Barbara Gonzalez-Alarcon

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Hi everyone, my name is Jessica Zhu. I am a substitute teacher in district 20 which is in Brooklyn. I was hoping to have my own classroom for this coming up school year, however there is a freeze on hiring general education teacher. I will be continuing substituting in the district 20 this school year. I been subbing for a year an a half now and last year I had an opportunity to sub for a maternity leave in my elementary school from march till the end of the school year. It was a great experience I got to practice what I learned in class and be expose to the different type of learners who I might encounter in our future classroom. I have a bachelor degree in general education 1-6 from City College. Currently, I am working on my Special Education degree. I chose special education because I had a chance to work with SWD and I enjoyed so much. From that day on, I was passionate about learning ways to help SWD. I enjoy cooking and trying different culture food. I am a big foodie. I also enjoy going to parks and shores where it is calming and have beautiful sceneries. My life motto are “ Make your life a masterpiece; imagine no limitations on what you can be, have or do,” (Brain Tracy) and “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” ( Malcolm X).

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Hi, my name is Makeda Greene and throughout my life have taught modeling and acting, step, soccer, and art to children. I have an Associates degree in Liberal Arts Humanities from Westchester Community College and a Bachelors in Art from City College. Over the past 6 years I have been a pre-k teacher. One day while at work, I realized that the job just wasn't for me and I wanted to work with older kids. I wanted to challenge myself and everyday at my job felt like déjà vu. I wanted to work with special education students it is something that I have always been very passionate about. I left my job in July as a preschool teacher to come back to city college as a graduate student.I am non-matriculated now but I plan on applying in September. I am a hair stylist from my home and I also travel to my clients homes. I do weaves, box braids, crochets, cornrows and many more.

I live in Peekskill, New York and I am the mom of a 7 year old son.  I love music, dancing and art. I am addicted to watching television and I love to cook. My favorite quote is you laugh at me because I am different I laugh at you because you are all the same.

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Hi Professor and all my class mates my name is Ivy Lee Walters.  I work with children for a number of years and love working with children. That is why I want to extend my passion in the classroom. I work well with others and I am a good listener. I went to Kingsborough Community College and achieve a Liberal Art Degree. I also went to Mercy College and achieve a Bachelor Degree in Behavioral Science. This is my second semester at City College and I am pursuing a Master Degree in Special Education. I am easy to get along with and love people. I enjoy music, cooking, being outdoors, and spending time with my family when I am not working. I am hard working and take my assignments seriously. I am looking forward to work with my classmates and have a good semester. 

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Hi Professor and all my class mates my name is Ivy Lee Walters.  I work with children for a number of years and love working with children. That is why I want to extend my passion in the classroom. I work well with others and I am a good listener. I went to Kingsborough Community College and achieve a Liberal Art Degree. I also went to Mercy College and achieve a Bachelor Degree in Behavioral Science. This is my second semester at City College and I am pursuing a Master Degree in Special Education. I am easy to get along with and love people. I enjoy music, cooking, being outdoors, and spending time with my family when I am not working. I am hard working and take my assignments seriously. I am looking forward to work with my classmates and have a good semester. 

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Hi, my name is Eirini Amanatidis and I'm a substitute teacher in district 25 located in Queens. Last year was actually my first year teaching and I definitely learned a lot from my experiences. I taught at all grade levels from Pre-K to sixth grade and also completed a long-term leave replacement position for a second grade class from Nov-January of last year. I'm taking this course, and ultimately pursuing a masters in Special Education, because I value all the good it could do for SWD. As a student with a disability, my special education helped me become the successful person I am today. I want to do the same for other students. Some of my favorite things are memes, vegan food, anything Marvel/DC related (Captain America and Batman are my favorite superheroes), movies (I'm the biggest movie buff ever), and reading. My favorite book is "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes and I'm currently reading "Teaching with Love and Logic" by Jim and Charles Fey to better my teaching practices. My life motto is pretty simple and is something my mom used to tell me all the time: No matter how many times you fail at something, you need to get up, dust yourself off, and keep marching on. As someone who fell (figuratively) quite a bit, I needed to hear this often from my mom. Another motto I believe in is: "When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important" (Ellen DeGeneres). I'm looking forward to a great semester!