Jacob Petrick Email and Phone Number

I am currently a front desk employee of the Planet Fitness in Southgate, MI and a student at the University of Michigan - Dearborn with a total of 101 credit hours seeking a position as a paraprofessional.Recently, during my employment at Planet Fitness, I pursued the opportunity to become a bullpen trainer. My duties were to instruct the club’s fitness classes when the certified fitness instructors were absent. One thing that became clear when I finally got the opportunity to teach these fitness classes was how much I missed being able to foster the education of others around me. In the past, I was employed at the Penrickton Center for Blind Children in which I assisted blind children with multiple-disabilities with their activities of daily living. Given the obstacles these children must tackle every day, the position was challenging, but rewarding. By implementing active learning and adapting the child’s environment they were able to gradually gain more independence. For example, a child that was blind and had cerebral palsy was able to reach out and find their own spoon, after being lured with a favorite toy, instead of simply being handed the spoon. It is very difficult to sum the amount of experience I gained at the Penrickton Center in one cover letter. From the Penrickton Center, I left for a position at Summit Academy Flat Rock’s before and after school care program. I quickly learned the importance of procedures in classroom management in order to avoid enforcing rules. However, before my first year of conducting the before and after school program I received a promotion to become a paraprofessional. Initially, I served as support for a student as he was mainstreamed into a general population classroom then served as the technology paraprofessional for the remainder of the school year.In the midst of gaining experience through my past employment, I have been pursuing my English Degree and teacher’s certification at the University of Michigan - Dearborn. What has been most beneficial is taking theory from classes on classroom management and exceptional children then getting to apply them at the Penrickton Center or Summit Academy