Stephanie Toman
Kiker Elementary School
Austin, TX USA
"Allow yourself to make mistakes, but learn how to fix them."
Career Roadmap
Stephanie's work combines: Education, Non-Profit Organizations, and Teaching / Mentoring
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Get experience in the profession you think you want. I think many people think they want to enter a particular field and then they go through so much effort only to find out that they don't feel right in that profession. Intern, shadow, interview others, etc.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Education, General
Texas State University-San Marcos
Certification
Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Born and raised in Austin, Texas.
2.
Had a few influential teachers growing up that inspired her; admits that she has always known that she was going to become a teacher.
3.
In high school, she befriended a classmate with special needs and played a pivotal role in helping her navigate through school—says this solidified her interest in teaching.
4.
Attended Texas State University where she received her degree in education.
5.
Is dyslexic, but didn’t realize it until she interned in an elementary classroom and noticed that the dyslexic students she was teaching had the same difficulties she had growing up.
6.
Works for Austin Independent School District, teaching elementary grade level students at Kiker Elementary School.
7.
Spent two years training to become a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT) so that she could teach Take Flight, an intervention therapy program for students with dyslexia.
8.
She now uses multisensory and strengths-based learning to help dyslexic students succeed—says people with dyslexia aren’t incapable of learning, they just need a different set of tools.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
Why do I always get B's when others get A's? I must not be as smart.
How I responded:
I grew up thinking that everyone had trouble reading, writing, spelling, etc. As I got older, I was confused as to why I wasn't succeeding in school like my classmates. In college, I discovered I was dyslexic and from there was able to rethink how I learn and study so that I can succeed.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I'm dyslexic, but didn’t realize it until I was older and noticed that the dyslexic students I was teaching had the same difficulties I had while growing up.