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SEVEN YEARS AGO--I was seventeen years old and just finished up my senior year of high school. I know that a lot of pple would have expected me to think of going away from home into what you would call the so college life, but if you don't necessarily know about my personal life circumstances I can only hope that will answer your questions. After I had attended this so called Disability National Youth Leadership Conference in October of last year, one of the staff who was with us mentioned their adaptive going away to college program called "Aggies Elevated." At this time in my life, it certainly sounded like an adventure and something completely new to see myself getting into with figuring out the decisions I'd have to make in this process. I have been a volunteer aide at this local elementary school for many years and never imagined myself wanting to leave that behind me, to start on this new journey of being more independent. To make this long story short, I never ended up applying to be in this program and as incredibly disappointated as I felt at the time-- there was not an option of me ever wanting to leave everything back at home. Over these past seven years of being a volunteer aide at Westridge Elementary, words will never be able to describe what a great life changing experience it has turned out to become. I have loved getting to help out so many awesome students over the years and learning from them has been such an absolute treasure for me, whether you know it or not. It has truly given me the opportunity to grow and step out of my comfort zone a little bit in a way that I never felt as comfortable doing at the time, but I am never gonna trade this experience for anything else in this world. I am so grateful for the two amazing teachers that I've had the privilege of working alongside with this year and I feel so blessed to have done whatever was necessary. Thank you both so much for an unforgettable school year and one that I will cherish in my heart forever!!

Three Days left until this school year is over... which I will admit has my mind all over the place. It has been such an amazing time for me to learn things that I never thought I'd see myself do. I am so grateful for the skills I have been able to take away from this year and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store. It is hard to even believe that another year has come and gone so quickly, but I'll never forget those many memories that I was able to make with my students. There is not one single thing that I would have felt like needed to be changed this year (expect for maybe when I didn't feel as though I performed various tasks as well I wanted to.) In spite all of the many ups/downs that I've had throughout the years from this experience, I cannot even begin to thank everyone enough for the appreciation and love that I've felt since coming into this chapter of my life. Thank you all so much for letting me have the volunteering opportunity of a lifetime and cannot wait to see the next school year holds for us!!