Autobiographical Sketch by Ashley Eckenrode

Many life experiences have helped shape who I am and what type of teacher I would

like to become. I grew up in a small town called Annville and had very supportive teachers.

This helped me gain an appreciation for the work that teachers do and see the difference

they could make in student’s lives. It helped showed me how a little bit of kindness goes a lot

way towards helping children. I began my college career in Business Administration. I

quickly realized that I did not have any passion for business and that it did not give me that

purpose I was searching for in life. I started babysitting and that’s when I first realized how

much I liked working with kids. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard work, but I loved it. I began

working for IU13 as a personal care assistant for a student in the autistic support classroom.

This is where my love for being an educator really began, and it’s what inspired me to go

back and complete my studies in Early Childhood-Elementary Education. Working in the

autistic support classroom was very stressful and did take some emotional tolls, but the

reward of seeing the children progress was beyond worth it. I’m glad I got to have this

classroom experience to help give me an idea of what working in a special education

classroom will be like. This is what helped me find my true purpose. Not just as anyone, but

one that helps those who truly need it such as students with special needs. This is why I

want to finish out a degree in Special Education. I will become an early intervention teacher

and help kids that show signs of developmental delays. This is something I’m very

passionate about, and I want to be one of the teachers that students can rely on.