I just ended my employment with Easter Seals Academy in Tinley Park, after four incredible years. While in the education setting I found my business degree was more helpful than I could’ve dreamed of. Like business education is about learning the people you are working with, their strengths, weaknesses, quirks, etc. Having learned the IEPs of several students, their goals as well as behaviors I found working in a classroom to be very much like working in a business setting. Everyone is different from what path they are in to what and how they learn. Adapting to the individuals style is the important aspect. Like no two students learn the same way, no two employees work the same way. In order to help them succeed it is important to help them discover the best way in which they work that will allow them to get the task done in an appropriate time and manor. While at Easter Seals Academy I also was a certified substitute teacher. When the teacher was out or otherwise unavailable in the classroom, I was able to take over under the directions they had left, or by continuing to work on continued assignments and group work we had been working on previously. This required me to not only over see the education of the students but also to ensure the other staff in the room were doing their jobs as well. If they were not it was up to me, at that time, to talk to them and get them back on track so that we were able to function properly as a team.There were also situations in other areas of the building that I would help with when I was available. In these instances I was acting in a supportive role, doing whatever was needed of me at the time, be it helping with a behavior, or working with students that I was not accustomed to working with regularly. And like in any business this shows a part of being a team player and being able to quickly adapt to my settings to help as much as I could.So, in short, when someone asks if I have management experience I believe wholeheartedly the answer is yes. It my not be in a traditional sense of the word but I have experience. More importantly I see that my experience with Easter Seals has taught me the importance of a leadership role, as it is more important to lead by example instead of just providing direction.