“You have to be happy in order to make life the best it possibly can be.”
Meet Ms. Julie Heaven, a teaching assistant in Special Services here at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech. Ms. Heaven wanted to work as a teaching assistant because of her background in Special Education. She enjoys her role at Voc-Tech because she loves interacting with her students and helping them be successful, more independent, and confident in themselves. Before coming to Voc-Tech, Ms. Heaven worked for the New Bedford Public Schools as a Special Education Teacher for five years; she has taught students from kindergarten to fifth grade. She not only likes teaching students and helping them, but also likes learning about the students and adapting to their learning styles to better help them understand the curriculum.
She also enjoys just learning about the students themselves and becoming a consistent person in their lives. Ms. Heaven aspires to finish her Master’s Degree in Education and hopes to become a classroom teacher one day.
Outside of the classroom, Ms. Heaven is very passionate about hockey. She enjoys talking about hockey and considers one of her biggest joys in life being her son’s love for hockey and watching him skate and play since he was just three years old. Over the summer, Ms. Heaven likes going to the beach and taking day trips with her son and just overall spending time with friends and family. Some of her hobbies include teaching, writing, mathematics, dancing, and cooking. She also aspires to travel the world, visiting every continent one day in the future. Ms. Heaven enjoyed her high school years at Fairhaven High School, noting that her favorite subjects were Biology, and Anatomy and Physiology. She was very active in her school both sports-wise and club-wise. Ms. Heaven participated in not only the science club, but also basketball, cheerleading, and field hockey. She encourages students to make the most of it, either by participating in sports or clubs. “One day these days will be missed, so make the most of it while you can.” Ms. Heaven also makes it a point to ask questions and explains not to be afraid to take academic risks because we learn from our mistakes.
Article and Picture by: Art Clark, Senior Media Technology