Meet Samantha! 

Samantha is in her second year here at St. Cloud State. She comes from Minnesota State University Moorhead, but ended up finishing her bachelor’s degree at SCSU. She received a degree in Community Psychology with a minor in Communication studies in 2018 and was accepted into the ABA program right after. Her parents are also alumni of SCSU, and she has been coming to campus since she was young and started off her experience at the college in the Lindgren child center. While she didn’t originally decide to come to SCSU she is happy she’s here and loves learning from the professors who are all very knowledgeable in their subjects. 

Samantha previously worked with high functioning preschool-aged children in a day treatment environment that was designed to emulate a classroom. She currently works in a level four special education classroom in a general education middle school. The students are lower functioning and engage in high rates of physical aggression, verbal aggression, elopement, and property destruction. While she enjoys working with children of all ages, she thinks found her niche in middle school. 

Something interesting about Sam is that she had a heart attack during her first year of college and acquired two neurological disorders. The primary symptoms include sudden loss of consciousness, vertigo, migraines, and chronic fatigue. To aide in her disability, she received a medical alert and mobility assist dog from the local organization, Can Do Canines (they are located in New Hope, MN). Her dog Obie helped her regain her independence and ensured that she could safely attend classes on campus again. After five years as a team, Obie is now retired and spends his days sleeping in the sun next to Luna, his kitty best friend. Obie and Samantha are now featured on a vehicle that was donated to Can Do Canines by Subaru.