Esther Lane: Outstanding Graduate Student in Special Education (Early Intervention)
Esther Lane of Warren, Maine is the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Graduate Student in Special Education (Early Intervention) Award. Read a Q&A with Lane below.
What difference has UMaine made in your life and in helping you reach your goals?
The goals UMaine helped me accomplish are receiving my full credentials for my Early Childhood Special Education certificate and receiving my master’s in special education with a concentration in early childhood.
Have you had an experience at UMaine that has changed or shaped the way you see the world? If so, tell us about it.
This program has shaped the way I look at children who are experiencing behaviors. I now know to stop and look at it as: what are they trying to communicate? By looking at it as communication, it helps me to step back and figure out ways I can help the child regulate their emotions and be successful in the classroom and with their peers.
Have you worked closely with a professor or mentor who made your UMaine experience better? If so, tell us about them.
Many of my professors and instructors were there to help me be successful. When I was having a difficult time understanding an assignment because of my learning disability, the professors were willing to do extra Zoom meetings to help me understand and make sure I was on track. Thank you to Sara Flanagan, Jamie Treworgy, Debrajean Scheibel, Mary Ellin Logue and Martha Gladstone.
What advice do you have for incoming graduate students to help them get off to the best start academically?
My advice would be if you have a disability be upfront with your professors in the beginning. If you are working on an assignment and you are not understanding what the professor wants, reach out to them for clarification. The professors are there to help you understand the material and be successful in your profession.
Why UMaine?
I came to UMaine through the CDS Pathways Program. This was an opportunity that I am glad I did not pass up. This program gave me a chance to receive my full credential for my teaching certificate and also receive my master’s degree.
Favorite UMaine memory:
I enjoyed talking with my professors who took the time to link the material to real world examples so I could understand it.
Special Thank You message:
Thank you to the professors that are helping students to understand the information and be successful in their profession.