Autobiography

My name is Melissa Lynne Sandquist. I am currently a fifth year student at Winona State University (WSU). I was born May, 1986. I grew up in Marshall, MN, with my parents and brother, who is two years older than me. I attended the Marshall Public School District from kindergarten through my senior year of high school.
I love activities involving the outdoors, whether it is walking, rollerblading, or camping. I love to listen to music and watch movies. My family and friends are very important to me. I am very passionate about people with disabilities and working with them. My strengths are being organized, compassionate, and honest. I believe my strengths will help me to be an amazing teacher one day.
I have had opportunities to travel within the United States. I have been to California, Florida, and Massachusetts. I was recently able to go to the National Council for Exceptional Children Conference in Boston. At this conference I went to different sessions and learned a lot of information about teaching that will help in my future career. I also had the opportunity to travel to France when I was in high school. This was a huge eye-opener, because I was able to feel it is to be a minority. It also made me realize how difficult communication can be for English Language Learners. I feel as though that experience will help me better understand those students in my future classroom.
I have been employed by Home and Community Options for the past two years. This job has been an amazing opportunity for me. I work in a home assisting four clients who have developmental disabilities. I have gained patience, understanding, and knowledge from this job. I have become much more aware of how to treat people with special needs. I have developed an understanding that even those people who have disabilities are still humans and they need to be treated like every other person.
I have had a lot of experiences in a variety of classrooms. My math, English, health, and physical elementary education method classes have required me to go in and teach those subjects to students. It has been a good experience to actually teach those subjects, even if they are not what my concentration is on. I have also had the opportunity to do two Practica experiences in two different schools in special education classrooms. That was a great experience for me. I was able to be in an elementary classroom for half days one semester and a high school for full days a different semester. It really showed me how different students can be at different ages, but at the same time the students’ needs may be the same. I have been lucky to be in both regular elementary education and special education classrooms. It has opened my eyes to the possibly of teaching in both and how to adapt to the needs of my students.
I am the treasurer of a club at WSU called the Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC). This is now my second year as treasurer. I have enjoyed taking on the responsibility of being a leader of this club and fulfilling my duties as treasurer. It definitely has been a great experience of getting involved on campus. I also was a mentor to a student at the Winona High School for two years. This student graduated and I got to see all of my hard work and dedication pay off. Because of my dedication of my own education, I have been on the Dean’s List at WSU for four semesters.
I am going to school to become a teacher because I want to be able to change the lives of students. I want to be the teacher who helps students succeed in their academic careers. When I think of the teacher I have had in the past, it shapes the teacher I want to become. A teacher is such an important role in a person’s life. It is important for me to have a positive impact on someone’s life. I love working with and helping out kids. I feel I am destined to become a teacher. I want to be the teacher that sticks out in students’ minds because of how much they learned and enjoyed learning in my classroom.