"...I grew an incredibly strong appreciation for special education and a drive to help."

Hometown

Honolulu, HI.

Department

Special Education

Related Degrees

• Master of Education in Teaching (MEdT)

Why did you choose to become a teacher, in general?

My Father has been a teacher in the Hawai’i State Department of Education since I was born. I grew up in his classroom seeing the love and care he had for his career and students. This unique experience as the child of a DOE teacher inspired me to pursue the same path as my Father. As a teacher, my Dad had the same schedule as me and my siblings, allowing for interactive and hands-on parenting that other professions did not enjoy. I understood my Dad was able to be so involved because of his career. Experiencing the other side of this gift as a parent while raising a family in Hawai’i would be an honor. I hope to teach high school students as I feel they are far enough in their educational and personal journeys for me to connect and understand them as individuals. Looking back on my K-12 experience, I developed stronger relationships with my high school teachers than I did in elementary or middle school, and hope to replicate that with my future students. Additionally, I would like to be involved in facilitating extracurricular activities like drama and service clubs that may not be accessible in elementary or middle schools. Social Studies was always my favorite subject, prompting me to dedicate my undergraduate degree to Political Science and American Studies. I have strong knowledge of these subjects with an equal level of passion.

Why did you choose to become licensed in special education?

While I have always wanted to become a general education teacher, my passion for special education is new. Going into the third year of my undergraduate degree, I began working on campus in the UH Mānoa student disabilities office, the KOKUA Program. I started as a student receptionist, taking phone calls, scheduling appointments, and speaking with students who came into the office. Immediately, I was interested in the intricacies of special education. I was interested in learning about the accommodations the KOKUA program facilitates and how to create equal access in as many spaces as possible. The more time I spent around KOKUA students, the more I wanted to learn. For the first time, I experienced working with students with disabilities in an intimate way.

A few semesters ago, we had a student with cerebral palsy who needed exam accommodations; a scribe, a reader, and extra time. While these were accommodations other students needed, this particular student’s accommodations needed some creativity. The University had only just started opening up after COVID-19, the student had a severe speech impediment, and highly limited mobility. I was assigned to work with this student for the semester and helped the program director to find ways to facilitate his accommodations. The program director and I ended up using a two-monitor system, a word bank, and a prompting card. I sat on one end of a 6-foot table with the student on the other side. For the written essay portion of his exam, we each had a computer open to the same Google Document. He slowly dictated his answers to the questions as I typed. He was able to read what I was writing in real-time to make sure I was understanding him correctly. We worked with the student’s professor to allow him to make a word bank for filling in the answer questions. He and I both had a copy of the list he made. This way he could try to say the correct answer, try to point to it physically, or tell me which item it was on the page. For multiple choice questions, we used a prompting card so the student could say “elephant,” instead of “e.” This way, I would understand what he was saying better. I would repeat back “elephant,” to double check I understood him. We used this system for every exam he had that semester. I got to work with him once every two weeks. I grew an incredibly strong appreciation for special education and a drive to help. Watching this student succeed and knowing that the accommodation ideas that I had helped create worked was gratifying. I knew it was something I was passionate about and wanted to continue. I decided I would get a dual certification in secondary and special education.