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I was born on a snowy winter night in Berwyn, IL at 11:36 pm.

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The Chernobyl Disaster happened in 1986.

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Ronald Reagan was the president during the years of my young childhood.

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I grew up in a small town outside of Chicago called Stickney with my mother, father, and two younger brothers. My dad was a truck driver, and my mom was an administrative assistant for a small company. My parents were very involved in my and my brother's life. They taught us to work hard to achieve our goals. My parents were very strict with us completing our homework every night and made sure we were active children and involved in sports and activities. This shaped me into a hard-working, organized, professional, patient, and reliable adult.

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I grew up going to church every Sunday and Religious education on Saturday mornings. My mom was very religious, and my dad did not attend church. I often wondered why we had to go to church every Sunday when my dad never went. I am thankful I continued with my faith because going to church is something I currently do with my children every week.

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I went to a small school and had the same classmates in my class from kindergarten until 8th grade. I loved school and I think a lot of my love for school came from the small school, town, and same classmates I went to school with every year. I am still friends with three of the girls I went to kindergarten with.

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When I got to high school it was a huge adjustment for me. I went to a school that had 1000 kids per class. After going to school with the same kids for my entire childhood it was a really scary and hard time for me. I loved my later years in high school but the first 2 years of school were challenging because I was trying to figure out where I fit in. I was in cheerleading and involved in several clubs. School was very important to me and I always tried my best and worked hard in life.

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I continued my education at NIU and went to school for family social services. I knew I always wanted to help people. At this point my parents and brothers moved to Arizona and I decided to stay in Illinois. This was a very hard time for me because my family is extremely close and not having them near me was hard on all of us.

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My younger brother got into a car accident in Arizona during the month of December 2005 and was in a coma for 25 days. Our faith held us together during this time, and my brother finally pulled through but had a traumatic brain injury and needed significant assistance and therapy. After working with my brother, watching him go through treatment, and working with others with many different disabilities, I decided I wanted to work with Adults who have disabilities. I went back to school that winter and finalized my goals once I graduated. I did my research, volunteered at agencies that worked with individuals with disabilities, and eventually landed my first job that changed my entire life for the better.

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I got a job out of college working at an adult service agency in Joliet. My job was as an instructor for an adult day program. I loved my job, and it taught me about diversity, disabilities, love, acceptance, and kindness. I have never worked with such amazing people. After hearing some of their stories about their special education experiences in school, I knew I wanted to pursue my Master's degree in special education to help young students receive appropriate special education services.

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The epistemology that I have experienced is Constructivism. I believe in this idea. I believe in keeping the focus on the student and learning about their lives and ideas. I think students learn best when they are active in their learning, participate in discussions, and explore ideas and the world around them. I am also a believer in critical theory. It is essential to advocate for your students, encourage change, and ensure they understand how they fit into this world and the understanding of social justice.