Hello from San Antonio Texas! My name is Valerie Reed-Sweed and I’m originally from Queens, New York. I graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a BA in Political Science and began the MAT@USC program in September 2009. I have been married to a career Soldier in the U.S. Army for 19 years and we have three beautiful teenagers.
I entered Wake Forest Law School in 2001 to work towards my dream of becoming an attorney. Unfortunately, I withdrew early due to a terminal illness in my immediate family coupled with my husband being stationed overseas during one of the worst times for our country and most intense times for our military communities – 9/11/2001. I was more compelled to be a full-time mom to my kids and a support system for my family than I was to complete law school.
I initially experienced work in the education field by being an active parent volunteer in my kids’ school. I helped start a PTA and participated as president and treasurer at a small charter school my kids attended in El Paso, Texas. I chaired and co-chaired a parent committee at a private school my kids attended in Winston Salem, North Carolina. I volunteered as the “classroom mom” for several years throughout my kids’ primary and elementary school years. I worked as a teaching assistant at UTEP and volunteered to tutor ELL students for the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test (TAKS). Even with all the involvement I have had in the education field as an active parent volunteer, I never considered being a teacher.
This changed in 2006 after arriving at my husband’s new duty station in Vicenza, Italy for a three year tour. The jobs on post were scarce for military spouses and nothing was available that involved my legal, financial, social services and community development background. As a result, I was encouraged to be a substitute teacher for the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) located on the post for children of military and government workers. I was hired as a substitute teacher and aide to the speech therapist as well as the special education teachers. I enjoyed working with the students and gaining their trust and admiration. I knew I could be a teacher and make a difference for our military children.
After arriving in San Antonio from our tour in Italy, I did a lot of soul searching regarding my next professional move. My heart kept leading me to the education field and to obtaining my Master’s degree at USC. MAT@USC is teaching me how to embrace uniqueness and teach real world education to uprising students. I am so excited to be a part of this program and close to completion in November 2010. I’m hoping to once again work in the military educational community and feel better prepared to do so with all I’ve learned in this awesome program. I’m truly learning to “fight on” toward success! Upward and onward!
