Behind Mrs. Kim

An instuctor of mine once said that some people do not find their passion until later in life; and when they do, they endure feelings of happiness, excitement, and satisfaction. Her statement has never rung more true. I found my passion for teaching later in life, after I had already spent four years in college and changed my major three times. It took a life-changing event for me to realize my passion for educating and helping young children: becoming a mother of a child with red flags for autism and auditory processing, speech, and developmental delays.

I had just changed my major back to computer information systems from nursing when my son entered the Infant Toddler Services program to begin his therapy. As I worked diligently with my child and his therapists to overcome his obstacles, I reveled in every single gain, no matter how big or small. I realized that I had finally found my passion and made the decision to change my major one last time.

While I have never looked back, a part of me was cautious of my career change. I have spent all of my life hiding a speech disorder, and it never occured to me that my passion would lead me into a career in which I would have to speak in front of students, parents, and colleagues on a daily basis. I hid my stuttering so well that neither my son's speech-language pathologist nor my husband knew I stuttered! I expressed my fears and embarassment of my fluency disorder to one of my instructors at Fort Hays State University. His words changed my outlook forever: "What better way to understand your students than on your disability alone?" I realized what an example I could be for students and what hope I could bring to some parents. Now, I am open to everyone with my fluency disorder and simply ask of my students, parents, and colleagues to be patient should I stutter over a word.