My name is Eric Ekstrom. I'll start my brief introduction by saying my first experiences working in educational setting completely scared me away from the profession. I was an education major concentrating in social studies at SUNY Cortland when I found myself deterred from pursuing the profession. Since graduating with a history degree in 2012, a series of disappointing job opportunities and some soul searching has brought me back. My first opportunity to work with kids was as a modified wrestling coach for Webster Schroeder last fall [2013] and I instantly fell in love with the school setting and working with my team. Several months later I find myself surprised to say that working for Monroe #1 BOCES at the Start/ALA program has made me completely happy, fulfilled and has lead me to pursue my Master's here at Nazareth in Adolescent Inclusive Ed. and Special Ed. Before my experience at Start/ALA I did not think I would enjoy working with students with disabilities, however as I settled into the setting I found myself fully committed to the students and their academic goals, social development and all around well being. I actually am exited to start back to see everyone on September 2.
I am completely enthralled, and a little nervous to begin my graduate program while working full time. The student population at Start/ALA all generally have some emotional and/or social disabilities, and are in an alternative school setting to better suit their needs as learners. Everyday I learn something new; I learn from experience, I learn through conversations with other faculty and staff, and learn just by listening and observing teaching styles and interactions. Starting this program is exciting for me as I look to develop my understanding for my student population and my skills as an educator. This class is exciting for me in that it gives me new and different ways to interact with students that will appeal to them; you could say it puts me on the cutting edge.
I'll keep you posted.
-Eric
Up until this year, I have been working full time and going to grad school. While it is not the easiest thing to do, it can be done, and done well. Just make sure that you allow yourself some down time to reflect and recharge! Sometimes it's easy to get so involved that you overwhelm yourself and lose track of your own life. Take one day at a time. Once you get into the swing of things and get use to the schedule, you'll find that you can manage and incorporate a little bit of down time for yourself.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I think you will enjoy the graduate program at Nazareth.
Thank you for the encouragement! I have no doubt I am going to be greatly challenged, I am looking forward to it thought.
DeleteSmall world. I knew your picture looked familiar. I too graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2012, but with a degree in Childhood Education. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed working as a wrestling coach for Webster Schroeder, my uncle Dean Salvaggio is the varsity coach, and I'm sure you know the JV coach Ciaburri as well, seeing as he is also Cortland alum. Happy to hear that your soul searching has led you back down this road, I happened to do the exact same thing last year and left my job at Paychex to become a Pre-Kindergarten teacher. I look forward to seeing you!
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