She spoke of the special relationship between a student and their one-on-one paraprofessional with genuine care in her voice. She couldn’t quite find the right words to describe it, but there seems to be a real sense of family in that bond, as many teachers feel their students are an extension of their own families. You could hear the pride in her voice when she spoke of the first students she worked with in the district, who will be heading off to high school in the fall, having achieved so much already and knowing there are more great things to come in their lives.

 

A student’s need for educational support is something that Suzie knows about from the perspective of a parent as well. She shared with us that her younger son was a student who struggled and received support at school, and this inspired her to seek out the opportunity to help other students as well. “My son struggled with epilepsy and staying in school, so I decided to join him and I came to school with him,” she said. And thanks to the great group of teachers in the Jasper County district, her son has been doing wonderfully, and is on his way to high school as a freshman in the fall.

 

A proud mother, Suzie told us a little bit about her two older children as well; a son and a daughter. Her older son also received additional support in school which later inspired him to work as a paraprofessional as well. Suzie indicated that his first-hand knowledge of what the students were feeling and how they were struggling allowed him to approach helping the students in a unique way. Ultimately, he felt a calling to serve his community in a different capacity and has since become a police officer. Her daughter, heading into her senior year in the fall, is a young woman of her own mind, and likes doing things her own way. She’s a go-getter, Suzie said, doing everything she possibly can and is happiest when she keeps busy.

 

Originally from Southwest Michigan, Suzie’s parents moved to Effingham in the early 1990s. She said she spent two years in Michigan before she followed her parents to Effingham, around 1996, and later met her husband there when they worked together. Her husband, Jason, is a Jasper County native and Suzie said this is his community. While Southwestern Michigan will always hold a special place in her heart, Jasper County is “home”. “There are great things in Southwestern Michigan, but I really love Jasper County,” she said. The strong sense of community is one of the things that Suzie loves most about being here. “When you pass [people] on the street, and they don’t even know you, they’re still going to say ‘hi’ to you. They’re still going to wave at you,” she said.

 

Suzie loves her family, her community, and her job. “There’s nothing bad I could say about being a one-on-one paraprofessional,” she said. Every teacher plays an important role in the lives of their students – education is one of the most important things in every child’s life. But for Suzie, she would always choose to be one-on-one with her students because of the close bond they are able to develop. “I love what I do,” she said, “And I will continue to do it until my body doesn’t let me anymore.”