Abby Z.

Meet Abby

• Comfortable with pets

I am currently a junior at The University of Wisconsin-Madison, majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. I plan to graduate and pursue a career as a Child Life Specialist. My love for working with children began at an early age and continues to thrive and grow. From 13-18 years old, I was lucky to be a member of Off Center Dance Theater, a not-for-profit company with a mission to use the power of dance to bring smiles to the faces of children with serious illnesses, disabilities, socioeconomic challenges, and family challenges. I was also born with polydactyly on my right hand and for the first eleven years of my life, I saw a wonderful occupational therapist weekly- she had an immense impact on my childhood and my view of myself. Keri very quickly became a second mother figure in my life. I would love to have a similar impact Read more on childrens’ lives and the lives of their families. I have extended experience working with children! From 2015-2018, I worked at The Jewish Community Center of Mid-Westchester in their Sunday Funday Program. This included working with children aged 4-6 with developmental and cognitive disabilities for four hours every Sunday. As an extension of that, I was selected among a large group of volunteers to participate in the Students With Special Needs Training Institute at Ramapo. There, I received advanced coursework providing further training for working with children of varying abilities. In the Spring of 2018, I also volunteered as a teacher’s assistant at a local preschool, The Play School, working with children ages 2-3. For the past two summers, I have been a camp counselor at Elmwood Day Camp, working with children ages 2-4 and 6-7. From January- May 2019, I also volunteered at Emerson Elementary, working with children ages 6-8 as a teacher’s assistant. Lastly, I have babysat consistently for many families since the age of 14 I am very excited for this opportunity!

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Experience