Julie Mader:  

When I graduated from high school I went to Eastern Michigan Univ. I wanted to get an Elementary Teaching Degree, but at that time my teachers and counselors were saying that there weren't many teaching jobs available. So I changed course and decided to get a Criminal Justice Degree. I was only at Eastern for 1 semester at that time, but I am so glad I was, because I met my good friend Ilene. We are still very close friends and we get together at least once a month. After that first semester I headed back to Delta and S.V.S.U. to earn my Associates and then Bachelors Degree in Crimal Justice. By this time I realized I still truly wanted to be a teacher so I headed back to Eastern and earned my Elementary Teaching Certificate for grades K-8. Teaching jobs were tough to find. I substitute taught for 1 semester then taught Kindergarten at a Parochial School for the next semester and went on to teach a couple years of 5th grade in the Parocial Schools. During this time I also returned to S.V.S.U. to earn my Special Education Certificate to teach students with Learning Disability. As soon as I was certified as a Special Education Teacher the interviews and job offers started coming in. I decided to take the Special Education postion in the Swan Valley School District and I have been teaching 4th and 5th grade students with learning disabilities for the last 15 years. I love my teaching job, so I am a true believer in encouraging students to pursue whatever they truly want to be. Okay now the personal life. I married for the first time when I was 20, it lasted about 7 years. I would never trade that time because it gave me my son Nickolas, who is currently 16 years old and just started driving, scary! He is a junior at Western High School and plays football, swims, and runs track. He also just started his first job, so he has gas and insurance money! Let's see, then I was single for a couple of years and until I met my current husband, Jim Mader. ...Expand for more