Brandon

Education

Ever since I was in kindergarten, I’ve wanted to be a teacher. I have always been a lover of science, knowledge, and helping others. Throughout my life, I have had the privilege of great teachers who showed me the meaning and value of education, and I hope to share that with future students. My big idea is to change the educational system so no one feels isolated or cut off from education, which will help students with disabilities be more accepted and valued and hope for a brighter future.

When I was thirteen, I sustained a traumatic brain injury that turned my life upside down. I started to have a profoundly negative experience throughout high school by being isolated from my peers. I questioned whether I still wanted to be a teacher and what options I even had with my new disability. Eventually, I decided I still wanted to be a teacher. In college, I had the opportunity to reflect on my high school experience and my future aspirations and realized, although I did still want to be a teacher, I was meant to help make the world better for people with disabilities. I changed majors to psychology to better understand the human mind and decided to go to graduate school to become a counselor. My passion became helping adolescents with disabilities have fulfilling and meaningful school experiences.

I have now been trained as a teacher and a psychologist as well as a mental health and vocational counselor. I’ve also had training as an assistive technology specialist and utilize a right-handed keyboard on which I can type upwards of 70 words per minute. My right-handed keyboarding ability aided me greatly throughout school, making it possible for me to type long papers.

Through education, living as a person with a disability, and observations of social constructs, I have a perspective on disability, community, and society that will assist me in making contributions to the disability community. At my current job, I help people with disabilities get into the workforce, but I endeavor to become a licensed mental health counselor with strong technical skills.