We are happy to highlight students Phaeren Roby and Megan Welter for taking advantage of the opportunity to attend professional development events as members of the TRIO Teacher Prep Program.
Phaeren flew to Little Rock, Arkansas, to attend the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE) Annual Conference last November. CASE is an international professional educational organization affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children. The mission of CASE is to provide leadership and support to members by shaping policies and practices that impact the quality of education.
Phaeren came back feeling energized to be pursuing a degree in Special Education after attending this event and found it to be a very insightful experience.
“I believe this conference was relevant and useful toward my training as a future teacher. Initially, I had thought that I was going to feel out of place since it was for administrators and felt a little bit nervous about attending such a large event. However, I felt extremely welcomed by everyone there, and it was an incredible opportunity to meet others who were as dedicated to this field. Ever since COVID began, I had started to feel a little burnt out and didn’t feel as passionate about my degree as I used to. The CASE conference reminded me why I love Special Education and reassured me that this is the field that I need to be in. It was helpful to see what the administrators discussed and the issues that they face. It gave me a more comprehensive understanding of the field of Special Education.”
Earlier this month, another Teacher Prep student, Megan Welter, attended the Council for Exceptional Children Conference (CEC) being held in Orlando, Florida. The Council is a professional association of educators dedicated to advancing the success of children with exceptionalities through advocacy, standards, and professional development. Megan also found this experience very valuable to her growth as a future educator and she wants to encourage other students in our program to take full advantage of these types of opportunities.
“This conference was beneficial for me as a future teacher. I was able to network with educators from all over the United States. I gained many resources and learned about many opportunities with teaching that I had not thought about before… I highly recommend sending other students to these conferences and sharing the word about them! It was so much fun to attend, and I learned valuable information that I will be able to take with me and share with teachers and principals when interviewing”
To learn about upcoming student conferences and workshops, please visit our Conference webpage and take full advantage of these opportunities – don’t miss out on anything as a TRIO Teacher Prep student!