I grew up in Orem, Utah, so starting my undergraduate studies at Utah Valley University seemed like the right choice because it was so close to my home and allowed me to take it slow with my education. During my first few years of school, I went back and forth on what exactly I wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to do something in special education, but I didn't know exactly what route I wanted to take. I thought about working in either special education or early intervention with 0-3-year-old children with special needs in their homes with their families. I eventually decided to pursue my degree in family studies because I knew I could use that degree toward working in early intervention. After several years of study, right as I was about to finish my bachelor’s degree in family studies, I learned about the new minor in autism studies that would be available at UVU.

I knew that this program was exactly what I wanted, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to delay my graduation. After sitting in on the first class in the minor, “Understanding the Autism Spectrum,” I knew I needed to pursue my minor in autism studies. Other classes I had taken weren’t necessarily as applicable as this single class session was. I found that the minor was exactly what I was interested in. While I was in one of the classes someone recommended that I look into special education preschool. I realized that this was the perfect combination of the two things I was interested in. Though I learned about autism education in my minor, I didn’t have the special education degree I would need to teach special education preschool. In order to become a special education teacher, I had to enroll in an Alternate Route to Licensure program. I began to take classes online through another school to be able to teach special education preschool in Alpine School District. For the next two years, I spent my days instructing 3-5-year-old students with special needs and nights taking online classes. In the spring of 2017, UVU announced the opening of the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism. This new center offered Alpine School District the opportunity to expand their special education preschools with a new lab classroom that would serve as an additional preschool in the district. Because I was a graduate of the autism studies program and was already working for Alpine School District, I was asked to join the center as the preschool teacher. The center began with preschool students but expanded the next year to include kindergarten and first- and second-grade students. Since then, I have had the amazing experience of teaching a morning and afternoon class in the preschool at UVU. Students in the autism studies program are encouraged to observe teaching in the active classroom, which has provided a valuable learning opportunity for students at UVU.

In spring 2019, I was encouraged by a mentor to pursue my master’s in applied behavior analysis at UVU. Once again, I would be pursuing another degree while I was actively teaching. I never imagined that I would be able to complete a master’s program, but for the last few semesters, I have been back to doing both teaching and going to school. It’s funny, my graduate classroom shares a wall with the room where I teach my kiddos, so every once in a while I’ll hear a kid squeal (happy or mad), so I have to resist running over to check on them.

When I think about how important the center is to our community, I am reminded by all of the parents that have come through and seen all the resources that the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism offers. Many of these families have consultations with UVU and see the wide variety of resources available throughout the community. These parents have consistently told me that they feel welcome in the community at UVU. Though there are other special education preschools in the district, the preschool embedded in the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism has more resources available to the young students I work with. The district supports each of the preschools, but our preschool’s affiliation with UVU and the center has been invaluable. When I taught at my other school, I would have to take my kiddos to do laps in the hallway when it was raining outside during recess. Here, we have an entire sensory room and many activities that students can do inside and outside the facility.

I have loved my experience at UVU. Not only have I been able to teach in my own classroom with many amazing resources, but I have also been able to further my education. I am passionate about helping these kids, no matter their disability. Furthering my education through the new master’s program has helped push me forward to do even better things with these kiddos that I love. I would never have imagined sitting in that autism studies minor class would have led to this amazing experience with the university!