I would like to take this time to introduce myself. My name is Paul Zungri and I am LifeSkills Teacher in the Uniontown Area School District. I teach mentally and physically challenged individuals from grades six to eight. I have been in my current position at A.J. McMullen Middle School for five years.
I have been greatly influenced by three people in my life, my mother, my aunt and my nephew. My mother was a LifeSkills teacher for over 35 years helping individuals with intellectual disabilities. Through her years of teaching I have monitored her classrooms from the time I was six until she retired three years ago. She taught me patience, teacher-student relationships, proper work ethics and classroom management. She has been a wonderful influence in my life by showing me how rewarding it is to work with students that have disabilities.
My aunt was also a great influence in my life. She was born with Down syndrome and her parents were told that there was no way that she would live past 12 years old. She definitely proved them wrong by living until she was over fifty years old. Working with her when I was young and spending a great deal of time with her taught me patience and how to break down skills so that she could understand them. When describing things to her and seeing her understand different concepts was very rewarding for me and encouraged me to try and help more people with disabilities.
My nephew has been another influence in my life for working with individuals with special needs. He has influenced me to join a non-profit organization that works with special needs children play baseball. The league is called the Miracle League, which is a nationwide organization that has helped build fields all over the world to meet the needs of special people.
The three people that I mentioned above have helped me form my career and my life. The influences that my mother, aunt and nephew have made in my life have made my life a very rewarding life to live.
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