Inspiring excellence in education:
Alum thrives in position beyond her experience
 

Lauren Hulfish’s Huntington University education catapulted her into a position with extensive qualification requirements beyond her degree and experience.

As the professional development coordinator for Reading ASSIST® Institute, Lauren develops relationships with school districts, administrators, educators, community organizations, and outside consultants to secure training and professional development opportunities.

“As a result of my study in special education and elementary education, I am much more prepared than others for my position,” says Lauren, a 2006 graduate. “In fact, when I applied, they were searching for an individual with a master’s in reading as well as many years of experience. The skills and knowledge that I had gained through my time at Huntington surpassed the guidelines that the organization had set forth for the position. If it were not for my education at Huntington, I doubt that I would have even heard of research-based reading instruction and multisensory learning techniques, much less have been able to obtain this position!”

Huntington’s small size also served as a significant advantage for Lauren.

“A smaller institution allows your individuality and individual learning to take precedence,” she says. “Professors know your character, your abilities, your strengths and weaknesses, and your gifts. They use this to drive their instruction and to help you learn better. They differentiate their expectations, which helps all students achieve more. Not only are professors accessible, and thus quite a bit of knowledge is accessible, but they also actually care.”

Dr. Paul Worfel, assistant professor of education, had a profound effect on Lauren’s career direction.

“He sat down with me one day after I had been really discouraged with the major that I had chosen because of some situations that were occurring in a school I was teaching in,” she says. “He encouraged me, saying that I needed to keep in mind that this world was sinful and lost. I could not avoid that fact no matter what field I chose to go into. He instilled in me that as an educator, it is my job to provide students with knowledge, but more than that, to be a Christ figure to them, showing them love and doing all that I could to bring glory to God.”

Lauren would advise anyone interested in special education to consider Huntington.

“The program offered at HU will provide you with the tools necessary to provide proper instruction, especially to students labeled as learning disabled or needing mild intervention,” she says. “The instruction that you receive dually in elementary and special education will prepare you to meet the needs of students before they have been identified as special education. It will prepare you for dealing with diverse student abilities and for treating students in special education with the respect and love that they deserve.”