I grew up in Houston Texas in a split family. I had my dad's side and my mom's side (which consisted of a stepfather and stepbrother-who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at a very young age). My stepbrother, Kyle, and I became siblings when I was six years old, making his disability and the amount of attention he required very normal to me. As a family, we participated in many events together, mostly the usual things. We would go shopping on weekends (which was a chore itself), to the zoo, the aquarium, picnics, and car shows. We were a very normal family, just constantly stayed busy, but we also spent a lot of time in the Texas Children's Hospital due to my brother's condition. I learned the act of patience at a very young age because his needs were always top priority, even if it was my birthday. Being in and out of the hospitals with my brother never bothered me, in fact, the older we became the more I realized how blessed I was to have a brother as unique as Kyle.
In high school, I thought I wanted to pursue a future in Athletic Training, so for the majority of my high school career that is exactly what I did. My family used to come to all of the football games and cheer me on as I stood on the sideline with the athletes. It was always a great feeling to see my parents and my brother in the stands behind me every Friday or Saturday night, even though I wasn't playing in the game. My path, however, began to change my Senior year when I found other things that occupied my time such as the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department as well as taking classes at the Cy-Fair Community College towards an EMT-Basic Certification. I am not sure what led me to make a change, but since the opportunity presented itself in high school, I figured I would give it a try. Even though I accomplished all of these tasks, I knew I still wanted to attend a University and found myself at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). My family always wanted me to attend college. I was the first on my father's side to attend a University, and it was important that I made my family proud. So, off to SHSU I went, still unsure of what the future had planned for me.
In high school, I thought I wanted to pursue a future in Athletic Training, so for the majority of my high school career that is exactly what I did. My family used to come to all of the football games and cheer me on as I stood on the sideline with the athletes. It was always a great feeling to see my parents and my brother in the stands behind me every Friday or Saturday night, even though I wasn't playing in the game. My path, however, began to change my Senior year when I found other things that occupied my time such as the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department as well as taking classes at the Cy-Fair Community College towards an EMT-Basic Certification. I am not sure what led me to make a change, but since the opportunity presented itself in high school, I figured I would give it a try. Even though I accomplished all of these tasks, I knew I still wanted to attend a University and found myself at Sam Houston State University (SHSU). My family always wanted me to attend college. I was the first on my father's side to attend a University, and it was important that I made my family proud. So, off to SHSU I went, still unsure of what the future had planned for me.
With such a diverse background in high school, I was not sure which path I wanted to take for my undergraduate studies. There were so many options and so many things that interested me, I still did not know what I wanted to do. After a year of searching, I decided on the Major of Kinesiology and a Minor of Health Studies. Although I had chosen a major and a minor, I still knew that this degree would be general and basic. I knew that I could go pretty much any route with it and I thought I wanted to go to Physical Therapy School or maybe even work in Recreation, but that all changed my Junior year.
The week of finals prior to winter break in 2012, I received a call from my stepdad telling me that my brother, Kyle, had passed away. I was devastated. He was my only sibling and the one relationship in my life that could not be more perfect. I went through very rough times, but by the start of the Spring semester, I was determined to do anything in my power to be successful. Prior to Kyle passing away, I signed up for an Adapted Physical Education class for the next semester. I chose this course because I wanted to be able to create games that I could play with him. I thought it would benefit him as well as me so we could enjoy physical activities together. Unfortunately, he passed before I could take the class and i was "stuck" taking it after he had passed. I thought I would have to drop the course because just seeing other individuals with disabilities would remind me of him. It was not until I met the child I was paired with during the course, that I would not only make it through but I had just found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
After my experience in that one class was over, I immediately jumped on every opportunity to attend Special Olympics events, MS walks, or Buddy walks. I began to build my resume strictly with events that had anything to do with individuals with disabilities. During that time, working with various professors, I found out about the Master's program at Texas Woman's University. They told me it was a program in Kinesiology with an emphasis is Adapted Physical Education. I started to research this program and gained some insight on what it all had to entail. Two months later, I applied and received a notice shortly after that of my acceptance into the program. In January 2015, I was awarded a Grant for The Adapted Physical Education Master's Program. This grant helps pay for the tuition for the program so I can focus my time on getting out to various districts and being able to observe the Adapted Physical Educators working in the districts now. The grant requires us to observe 500 hours throughout the year of the program. So far, this has allowed me to follow and observe some of the most amazing Adapted Physical Educators that I have ever met. I am so lucky to gain the amount of experience that I am getting right now, and I know it will pay off in the future. I not only get to go out in the districts but other volunteer opportunities such as Special Olympics, RISE Adaptive Sports, Sports Extravaganza, and so many others.
I have now officially graduated from my Master's Program and will begin working for Round Rock ISD as a full-time Adapted Physical Educator. I am so excited to be given this opportunity with such a great district and team. I am ready to begin the learning process as a teacher and obtain as much knowledge and skills as they can allow. I am excited to start this journey and see where it leads me in my future as an Adapted Physical Educator.
The week of finals prior to winter break in 2012, I received a call from my stepdad telling me that my brother, Kyle, had passed away. I was devastated. He was my only sibling and the one relationship in my life that could not be more perfect. I went through very rough times, but by the start of the Spring semester, I was determined to do anything in my power to be successful. Prior to Kyle passing away, I signed up for an Adapted Physical Education class for the next semester. I chose this course because I wanted to be able to create games that I could play with him. I thought it would benefit him as well as me so we could enjoy physical activities together. Unfortunately, he passed before I could take the class and i was "stuck" taking it after he had passed. I thought I would have to drop the course because just seeing other individuals with disabilities would remind me of him. It was not until I met the child I was paired with during the course, that I would not only make it through but I had just found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
After my experience in that one class was over, I immediately jumped on every opportunity to attend Special Olympics events, MS walks, or Buddy walks. I began to build my resume strictly with events that had anything to do with individuals with disabilities. During that time, working with various professors, I found out about the Master's program at Texas Woman's University. They told me it was a program in Kinesiology with an emphasis is Adapted Physical Education. I started to research this program and gained some insight on what it all had to entail. Two months later, I applied and received a notice shortly after that of my acceptance into the program. In January 2015, I was awarded a Grant for The Adapted Physical Education Master's Program. This grant helps pay for the tuition for the program so I can focus my time on getting out to various districts and being able to observe the Adapted Physical Educators working in the districts now. The grant requires us to observe 500 hours throughout the year of the program. So far, this has allowed me to follow and observe some of the most amazing Adapted Physical Educators that I have ever met. I am so lucky to gain the amount of experience that I am getting right now, and I know it will pay off in the future. I not only get to go out in the districts but other volunteer opportunities such as Special Olympics, RISE Adaptive Sports, Sports Extravaganza, and so many others.
I have now officially graduated from my Master's Program and will begin working for Round Rock ISD as a full-time Adapted Physical Educator. I am so excited to be given this opportunity with such a great district and team. I am ready to begin the learning process as a teacher and obtain as much knowledge and skills as they can allow. I am excited to start this journey and see where it leads me in my future as an Adapted Physical Educator.