Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Day 83 - Celebrating Para Professional Week!

Last week we celebrated Para Professional Week at Westonka. This week the MWHSPride blog will feature blog posts from several outstanding paras that work at MWHS!

Today's post is from paraprofessional Annalisa Millimaki

I am proud to have worked as a paraprofessional at Mound-Westonka since 2008. My job is to work alongside teachers to help students with special needs in the classrooms. I have enjoyed every minute of my six years for many reasons.

First of all, the students at MWHS are the main reason I come here everyday! They are caring, compassionate young adults who work extremely hard to be successful. They also are so supportive of each other. When I was growing up, students with special needs were often excluded from general education and were not always treated well by their peers. Times have changed and luckily, this is less and less the case, but there is something special about the way MWHS students interact so genuinely with each other. It isn’t because they think they have to, it’s because they are genuinely great people! I can say with confidence that MWHS has the BEST student body in the state!

In addition, the administrators, teachers, and staff in this school work really well together. I think it is because we all are truly here for the students and we all care about each other. Several of us even get together socially inside and outside the high school walls. I actually attribute my own back-to-college endeavors to the encouragement I’ve received from my co-workers. This is the most supportive atmosphere I have ever worked in!

Lastly, I feel that I do some of the most rewarding work there is to do in this world. The students I work with everyday never cease to amaze me! Despite their struggles due to their disabilities, they ALWAYS rise to the challenge, and when they accomplish their goals, they are on top of the world! Not only are they hardworking, but they are so funny! They are always making me smile and laugh when they tell jokes or are being silly. For these reasons and many others, I am extremely proud to be an MWHS paraprofessional and a White Hawk!



If you have a story that you would like to share, please email mwhspride@277apps.org for more information! We would love to hear from you!

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