This New Student Club Helps Special Education Learners
Pitt Council for Exceptional Children chapter created by School of Education Students
For Emily Wilmoth, pursuing an undergraduate teaching degree in secondary education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Education is about more than earning a teaching credential. She wanted to find a community along the way.
“I don’t want to call it ‘networking,’” she said, “but building relationships with other future teachers. Having that mentorship from other educators can be really important.”
Her classmate, Paulina Sanchez, concurs. “I think being surrounded by other people who I know are in the same spot as me is encouraging,” said the first-year student in the Combined Applied Studies in Education program. “It reinforces my love for what I know I want to do, but at times I feel doubt in my head because of what other people say to me.”
With the help of Pitt Education faculty member JoVonne Tabb, Wilmoth, Sanchez, and several of their peers became the founding leaders of the Pitt chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), an organization advancing the interests of learners with different abilities around the world through educators.
Tabb, who teaches the Foundations of Special Education course at Pitt Education, is the CEC at Pitt chapter’s advisor and also the secretary of the Pennsylvania chapter of CEC. She also helped reignite the Duquesne University chapter as a graduate student.
“I knew how (CEC) connected me to resources,” she said, noting the many programs available to members, including the CEC convention, online modules, talks, and discussion forums. “They have everything under the sun topic-wise that the students can engage in.”
The national CEC organization largely supports educators in the field through professional development opportunities as well as advocacy, but Tabb says the organization has prioritized student-led initiatives in recent years.
While it has its origins at Pitt Education, the CEC at Pitt club is open to all students across the university Member Lily Humbertson, a third-year student majoring in communication sciences and minoring in secondary education, plans on becoming a speech pathologist.
“I’ve always been interested in working with kids with disabilities, but it was a challenge trying to find more things to learn and talk about and not having that outlet,” said Humbertson. “This club could be that outlet for a lot of different people of any major just to learn and interact.”
Wilmoth, Sanchez, and Humbertson all have a connection to special education in their own lives.
Wilmoth, who is president of the CEC at Pitt, works for a social services organization for people with disabilities. Sanchez, vice president of the club, has a brother with severe Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Humbertson, who is club treasurer, is completely deaf in her left ear.
“I just want to be able to make sure people are always comfortable, get what they need, and feel a sense of belonging no matter what,” said Humbertson. “That’s what we want this club to be.”
Plans for CEC at Pitt include regular meetings for students to talk about related topics, inviting a guest speaker once a month during the academic term, group volunteering initiatives, and more.
For students interested in the club, please visit their page on ExperiencePitt and follow the group on Instagram @cfec.pitt.
