My name is Callie Staton, and I am a first year Freshman at the University of Toledo. I attended two different high schools, one in the Toledo area, and the other in Huron Ohio, about ten minutes from Cedar Point. I plan to work with special needs individuals either as an instructor, or a Developmental Specialist, and I’m not entirely sure yet whether or not teaching is the profession for me. I am, however, fairly certain that working with developmentally delayed individuals is a field in which I could definitely strive and contribute to.
As I have previously stated, I am not totally convinced I want to be a teacher. Teaching is something that I have pondered doing for the majority of my life; my mother is a teacher and so are several members of my immediate family, so I was certainly raised in a very learning-cohesive environment. I think that teaching is a very admirable profession and one that I could do well, but I am still in the process of figuring out what exactly it is I want to do with my life, and deciding which profession would benefit special needs individuals the most.
I made the decision to work with these individuals because I deeply admire their positive outlook on life, and believe, based on my various experiences with them, that they possess a truly happy attitude that most people these days lack. I attended the School of Hope daycare center as a child as an “example student”, and it was there that I first discovered my love for helping the less fortunate. Attending this school taught me to treat these individuals as equals despite their obvious handicaps, and it taught me many other virtues as well, particularly to have patience and understanding for people from all walks of life. In addition to attending a school for those with special needs, I was given an opportunity this past summer to be a mentor for a twenty-three year old autistic man at the motel where I did housekeeping. Working alongside him every day made the tedious work much more fun and interesting, and I sincerely enjoyed my time with him. Pierre proved to be the hardest worker I have ever met, and this experience has thus been the most rewarding of my life.
Other points of interest about me might include the hundreds upon hundreds of volunteer hours I have collected through various organizations, such as giving music lessons to dyslexic teens, and being a camp Tribe Leader for two consecutive 30 Hour Famines, in which myself and the children I was leading ate nothing for thirty hours, to raise awareness about world hunger and those who have other needs. I work extremely well with children, and plan on making them my livelihood.