Sophomore Lacey Lown has always kept a place in her heart for people with special needs.

“My aunt has cerebral palsy and my brother was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD),” said Lown, a unified early childhood/special education major. “I’ve been around people with special needs all of my life.”

_Lown

Lown recently received the Joseph T. Weingold Scholarship, a $3,000 prize awarded to sophomore students enrolled in an undergraduate degree program in education leading to special education certification.

“Applying for this scholarship allowed me to communicate some of my feelings about special education and raise awareness about how much of a diverse and rewarding field it truly is,” she said.

Weingold was the prime architect and served as the first president and executive director of NYSARC Inc., the primary founders of The Arc of the United States. For 30 years, Weingold pioneered policy achievements in New York state that significantly shaped national mental retardation policy. Weingold advanced the concept that people who have intellectual and other developmental disabilities should have a distinct legal status separating them from other disabilities.

Lown was nominated by members of the Division of Education, including Diane Burke, professor and chair of education.

“As a department, we believe Lacey is an exemplary student who demonstrates all of the qualities we want to see in special educators graduating from Keuka,” said Burke.

In addition to Burke, assistant professors of education Martha French and Debra Dyer wrote letters of recommendation for Lown.

“Lacey was a student in my Systems Perspective in Special Education class,” said French. “Throughout the course, the quality of her work and the depth of her interest in the subject were exceptional. It was easy to recommend her for this award and I am so pleased that she received it. Lacey has the potential to make wonderful contributions to the field of special education.”

Lown began making her mark on special education during her January 2009 Field Period.

“I completed a Field Period in two special education classrooms,” said Lown. “The first classroom had students with disabilities ranging from communication disorders to autism; the second had students with emotional or behavioral disorders. I had never really seen a special education classroom before, and I fell in love with the environment the first time I stepped foot in the classroom. I was placed one-on-one with a boy who is emotionally disturbed. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.”

Without her Field Period experience, Lown would not have realized “how much I wanted to work in the special education field, and just what part of that field I liked the most. Field Period opened my eyes to the possibilities of the field of special education. I believe completing a special education Field Period prepared me for a future career as an educator.”

Lown wants to teach children with special needs because working with the children is “the most rewarding experience an educator can have. Teaching special education has such a high burnout rate that the field needs teachers and I believe I am one of those teachers that could work in that field and remain there for a long time.”

-- Gretchen Parsells