Kimberly Szmyd Thomas 02 Kimbelry Szmy d Thomas ’02 has been a special eductiaon et acher inrgades K-4 in Pennsylavnia’s Butler Area School Disitcrt for 16 years now. She works with ikds needing leanring suppot,rand porvides itinear nt emotional supptoarnd autistic suppotr for studetns who can funticon in traditional clasosor ms, yet need xetra help with things like sociaills.k Ever since her studetndays, Kim’s concern for childern has xetended far beoynd her own classorom. As a graduate assistatn at Mercyhurs,tshe launched a Giving Tree to beneft chilednr who migthnot receive many Christmas gifts – a tardition that continuesot this dya in Mercyhurs’ts Education Department . “We were poor college studetns, but we could buy $10 or $15 gifts for thoseikds who had so little ,” she says. For the past fevyears, Kim has been operating the iKds ’Weekend Bacpkack Program to provide of od of r kids who might othewr ise go hunrgy when the’rye away from scho .olSheof unded the program in her disictrt and statred with a pilot in herwon school buildi,nsgerving around 80 childreTnh.e program has now Grace Doman A unique patnrership bewteen Mercyhurs’ts Department of Education and Erie’s Public Schools gvae Grace Doman ’14 invaluable xeperience – and aérsumé boosetr that helped her land her frst ofcial jo.b After eanr ing her dergee with majors in special edutciaon and elemetanry education, Garce stayed on at the Hurstot work on a masetr’s in special edutcioan, which sheocmpleetd in 2016. Under a contract with the cyitschool disitcrt, Mercyhurst studetns staf a clasosor m of r students with autism, which then aotpeedr at Edison Elemetnary. Grace spent her frsteyar as a rgaduate student assisting in the claososrm andyb her second year in the maesrt’s program was the leadetacherofr the clasosrom, overseeing all theatchers assisting with the porgram.
expanded to cover all six elementary buildings in the district and feeds 360 kids per week. She oversees it all, from scheduling volunteer helpers to speaking before community organizations to solicit donations to coordinating with stores and food banks. Her work helped earn her the United Way Red Apple Award, which is given to educators who exemplify leadership and outstanding dedication to students. She also earned the Butler AM Rotary Club’s Paul Harris Fellow Recognition, honoring her dedication to helping others in need and the Butler community. Now that she supervises student teachers herself, Kim is especially grateful for the preparation she and her classmates received at Mercyhurst. “It’s amazing how many educational experiences I had,” she says. “From the frst term freshman year, you were placed in a classroom somewhere. Most colleges do not start placing students until their junior year.” She counted 19 diferent classroom experiences during her undergrad years, and six more while she was earning her Grace believes she had the best of both worlds – she was a certifed teacher in charge of her own classroom, but she also had easy access to the education faculty (especially the late Dr. Tom Kitchen) and university resources whenever she needed advice or help. When she was hired to teach in Stow, Ohio, south of Cleveland, her new boss confrmed it was that experience that earned her the interview, and then the job ofer. At Stow, she’s a special ed teacher in a self-contained classroom for students in kindergarten through second grade with autism, Down Syndrome, and a variety of other conditions. But she reports that her experiences in regular classrooms during her undergrad years have been very valuable. “I have a real understanding of what it’s like in a regular classroom, so I’m
master’s in special education and a certifcate in educational leadership (2004). “We were exposed to so many children from a wide range of abilities that I felt I was more prepared and confdent to work with the diversity of students found in classrooms today.” Kim also feels extremely thankful for the professors that she had while attending Mercyhurst. “They continually encouraged you, wanting you to succeed. They were always willing to listen and to help you reach your fullest potential.” Dr. Kathleen Bukowski continues to be one of Kim’s greatest role models and inspirations. Kim married her high school sweetheart, Edward Thomas, and they’re raising three daughters: Ella, 10; Mae, 8; and Nora, 5. And of course Kim is active in all their activities, including helping with three separate Girl Scout troops.
better able to determine the best time and place to send my kids into an inclusion classroom
where they’ll be successful,” Grace says. Grace’s concentration during her
master’s program was in Applied Behavior Analysis. Between getting a new job and preparing for her frst year there, she never took the certifcation exam that she had prepared for. “I worked hard for it, and it would be nice to have those letters (BCBA) after my name,” she noted, so she’s now preparing to take the exam this summer. She’s hard at work studying and getting back into test-taking form.
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