My name is Amie Turkette. I am married with two children. I am originally from Northern Virginia, near the DC area, but moved to South Carolina in 2006. I have always known I wanted to work with children, but actually began my working career in the business field. I have been a supervisor at Capital One, a senior loan specialist helping students with college funding, and an insurance agent with Geico. I was never truly fulfilled working at any of those jobs and when my family moved to South Carolina, I began working as a teachers assistant in Spartanburg District Five. After working with third and fourth graders for a year, I moved on to working with students with Autism. I helped them in the self-contained environment and worked on mainstreaming those who were ready. This was my first experience with Autism, and I became fascinated with the disorder almost instantly. I spent two years in this position and then began working with elementary children who had behavioral disorders. After two years of working with some of the most courageous and loving kids, I was offered a position in Cherokee County working at Granard Middle School. I taught students ranging from sixth grade to the age of 21 who had severe Autism. In my first year I was nominated teacher of the year. This was a huge shock and honor for any first year teacher. I loved my kids at GMS, but knew if I was going to make an even greater impact, I had to begin earlier. I was then offered the position at Roebuck Elementary School working with the Autism class. I was, and still am super excited to be so close to home and working at the very school my kids attended for elementary school.
On a personal note, I have three dogs, one cat, and 3 turtles. I love being creative and doing DIY projects. I enjoy listening to music, going to the beach, and just hanging out. I am currently attending USC (go Gamecocks) to add on certification in early-childhood special education. My bachelors is in psychology and my masters is in special education. I love learning and would not be surprised if I am still attending classes at the age of 70. |