My Inspiration

My aunt, Mary Lou Cook, is someone who has inspired me. 

Her father was the Judge of Probate in the city of Shelton, Connecticut and her mother was a stay-at-home mom.  She graduated from Shelton High School and went to Southern in the 1950’s.  She graduated from Southern and become a special education teacher in the Shelton Public School System.

What I find so inspiring about her was that, not only was she a special education teacher when many special education children were hospitalized, she was the first principal of a school for children with special needs called Ripton School in Shelton.  She remained principal for about 10 years until she became the Director of Special Education for the city of Shelton.  She remained director for 15 years, and when she retired she took a job with the state of Connecticut as an advocate for students with special needs.

What is so inspirational is that it was not until she was diagnosed with lung cancer that she ended her career fighting for what was right for students with special needs.  I can remember going to visit her in the hospital, when I had to wear a mask and robe because her immune system was so low, and she would ask me question about my job tutoring students with autism.  Even though she must have been in so much pain, she was still interested in what was going on in the world of special education.  She really was an amazing woman, and I hope that I can be half the woman that she was someday.