I don’t remember the day, but I definitely remember the year when I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I was in fourth grade and I absolutely LOVED my teacher- Mrs. Denise Chase. She was young and full of life, and she taught us how to say the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish. I can still recite it perfectly to this day, even though I don’t speak Spanish. I remember her talking about cooking dinner one day in class and I thought, “Wow! She’s a real person! She even cooks and eats dinner!” Well, that was the day I knew I wanted to be a teacher, just like Mrs. Chase. 

As the years went by, I was always the student involved in everything in school. I joined every club, participated in every extracurricular activity, and I ran track in high school. I couldn’t get enough of school. However, by the time I was getting ready to apply to college I decided that my new passion was to be a Marine Biologist. I loved the beach, the water, and the summers on Long Island. That being said, I had decided that I wanted to go to Southampton College and study Marine Biology. However, my plan didn’t last long. My father thought it may not be the best choice for a career, because other than research, what would I do with that degree to support myself? That’s when it occurred to me that I would go back to my original plan, to become a teacher- an elementary teacher, just like Mrs. Chase. 

My first experience with special education came in my first year of college. I took a part time job with Catholic Charities, working in a group home for mentally challenged deaf adults. I was a caregiver one weekend a month and I really enjoyed the enthusiasm throughout the home. I enrolled in a sign language course to help me communicate better with the clients. The following spring, I signed up to volunteer for the Special Olympics, and that was an unbelievable experience. Following that, I got a job at the Lake Grove School, a school for Autistic children.  All of these experiences were putting me on an unknown path to my future career. I was an elementary education major, however, at the end of my sophomore year my advisor suggested I might want to get a dual major because there were not many elementary positions available. That’s when I decided to double major in elementary and special education, and the rest is history! 

Eventually, my career kept expanding. I started teaching in the Patchogue-Medford School District. Although I had an elementary degree, I was hired as a special education teacher at the middle school. From there I did a few years at the elementary level, but then I was transferred back to middle school. After another few years, I was then transferred to high school and that is where I stayed for the rest of my career. As a secondary special education teacher, I had to choose a subject as a specialty area. I told my director I loved social studies, science, and math. He then told me I would be teaching 10th grade English! I wasn’t sure what he didn’t understand from our conversation, but he then went on to say he thought I would be a great English teacher. It wasn’t English I didn’t like; it was grading essays. As time went on, I realized that I really enjoyed teaching English, so much so that I went on to get my SOCE certification in Secondary English Special Education. I guess my director knew me better than I knew myself.  

 And so, as time went on, I couldn’t imagine having any other career. I loved my job more and more each year, and I loved the students. Over the years, I taught 15:1 self-contained, resource room, ICT, and life skills during summer school. I never felt like I was working because I got so much enjoyment from my job. The pride I felt every June when I volunteered at my district’s graduation ceremony was as if I was at my own children's graduation. I think the greatest feeling was a few years ago when my older son quit his job as a CPA at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Manhattan. He came to me and said, “Mom- I realize now that you are the only person, I know who is ready to retire and still loves your job. I’m going back to school to be a teacher.” He did and he now teaches business. He says it was the best decision he ever made. That was one of the greatest compliments I ever got. 

My life experience certainly highlights the fact that we just never know the full impact we can have as educators on the lives of our students. My career path, and my son’s as well, was shaped by my wonderful fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Denise Chase. I also know that what Mark Twain said is true--“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”