Family Support Network of Eastern North Carolina

Dr. Kaye McGinty recognizes Kaitlin Bunch as the 2011-2012 Angel Boberg Webb Memorial Scholarship Recipient. Read more about Kaitlyn’s story by clicking here.

Kaitlin Bunch – 2011 Angel Boberg-Webb Memorial Scholarship Recipient

The Board of Directors and staff of the Family Support Network of Eastern North Carolina offers congratulations to Kaitlin Bunch who is the recipient of the 2011 Angel Boberg Webb Memorial Scholarship for senior college students who plan to teach children with special needs.

Kaitlin is a fourth year senior at East Carolina University, majoring in Special Education with a subspecialty in adaptive curriculum. In our interview on April 18, 2011, Kaitlin explained that in middle school she became friends with a peer with special needs who got into fights at school. Kaitlin began to spend time with the peer and talk with her about the fights and many other topics. Kaitlin and the peer became good friends and their relationship was mutually beneficial. Once they transitioned to high school they realized there were many other peers interested in getting to know others and they formed an informal group. Kaitlin remarked that this experience was a valuable personal and learning experience for her. Kaitlin had also had experience with a family member with learning disabilities. Both of these experiences taught Kaitlin about the everyday struggles one may experience and the importance of support from family, friends and community members.

Once Kaitlin started to explore college and future interests she had difficulty because of her many interests. But, one of her high school teachers suggested she consider becoming a teacher. After some soul searching she decided to pursue a degree in education and received the North Carolina Teaching Fellow Scholarship. She decided to attend East Carolina University and began as a science education major. However, she went on a field trip with students from a special education class when she was a freshman and realized that working with children with special needs was her passion.

Kaitlin will begin interning in a public school classroom in the fall of 2011 and continue this experience in the spring of 2012. She is willing to working in any type of special education classroom and hopes that it will be at the middle or high school level.

While going to college Kaitlin has also had the opportunity to work for the ARC of North Carolina as a personal support specialist where she worked with an adult with developmental disabilities for nine months. She reports being very attached to the client and “loving” the work. Due to her educational responsibilities, Kaitlin had to stop working with the client but notes that this experience helped confirm her passion for working with children with special needs.

Kaitlin’s long term goals include teaching in a special needs classroom in North Carolina. She also wants to open a camp/retreat for people with disabilities and their families in Northeastern North Carolina. She describes this as a self-sustaining community which would allow individuals to live and work there. Kaitlin Bunch has a bright future ahead of her and we are confident that she will make a difference in the lives of children with special needs and their families. The Family Support Network of Eastern North Carolina is proud to help her continue to pursue her educational goals.

Kaye McGinty, MD
Board member FSN-ENC

Congratulations to Allison Warren, recipient of the 2010 Angel Boberg Webb Memorial Scholarship from the Family Support Network of Eastern North Carolina.

Allison is a senior at East Carolina University, majoring in Special Education.

Interview with Allison Warren – October 8, 2010

Meet Allison Warren, the 2010 recipient of the Angel Boberg-Webb Scholarship for senior college students who plan to teach children with special needs.

Allison is a senior in the College of Education at ECU and is a gracious, articulate young woman with a goal to serve others. She comes from a long line of teachers. Her Mother taught 3^rd grade and became an elementary school principal. Her Maternal Grandmother taught reading and might be considered a pioneer in grasping the needs of children who learn differently.

I asked Allison what led her to choose the path of teaching children with special needs. “My neighbors in Beaufort, N.C. had a little boy my age with chronic health problems including dependence on a tracheostomy and a feeding tube. We became friends and used sign language to communicate. I used to read to him when I was a child. He was a special person with a unique light coming from his eyes. This family and child made an impact on me.”

Allison is interning one day a week in a public school in Pitt County this semester and is looking forward to teaching in this school on a daily basis next semester. She has a passion for elementary age children and will be qualified to teach in kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Her long term goal is to have a permanent job teaching special needs children and she may pursue a Master’s degree.  As she says, “One must keep learning.”

I wondered what Allison thought would help her most to be a successful teacher. She said, “I think it takes a team of special educators to make a difference in a child’s improvement. One person cannot do it alone. I take pride in my education from ECU and am very fortunate.”

This young college woman is an inspiration to us, and it is evident from our conversation that she will make a difference. The Family Support Network of Eastern North Carolina is proud to help her toward her educational goals.

Kathleen Previll, MD

Board member FSN-ENC