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'I know what you're going through' | Georgia Gwinnett College senior on teaching special education in same classroom where he studied

Andrew Reynolds, a senior special education major, has a special connection with his students. He's a product of special education himself.

ATLANTA — The student becomes the teacher at Harbins Elementary School in Dacula, Georgia. Thirteen years ago Andrew Reynolds was a student at the school. Now, the former alum has come full circle starting his career as an educator. 

Reynolds, a senior special education major in his last semester at Georgia Gwinnett College, has a special connection to his students. He's a product of special education himself. 

"It's an eye-opening experience, I would say for them because they can turn to me and they can say, all right, Mr. Reynolds, you had this particular thing happen with you. How would you handle this situation," he said. 

The GGS senior has been assisting Ms. Leigh Rimpau in her classroom since July 2021. She's the same woman who taught him years ago.

"She actually was the teacher that taught me way back when. You know in my special education class, which is phenomenal. I love it," said Reynolds. 

As a child, Reynolds had a difficult time controlling his emotions and was diagnosed with Emotional Behavior Disorder (EBD). Administrators at Harbins Elementary then placed him in Ms. Rimpau's class to offer support. 

One of the reasons behind his career choice was Ms. Rimpau's and the other, his autistic brother. 

"He has high functioning autism or Asperger's and I've learned to live and how to help people that have that kind of traits. I wanted to give back to the people," said Reynolds. 

Reynolds wants to lead by example with his career. 

"I want to set an example and say even though you have this or you're doing this, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be set to stick in that. You can always overcome it," he said. "I just want to show them that I was there. I know what you're going through and you don't have to deal with that or you don't have to worry about that because you can get better from there."

Another one of Reynolds's goals is to eliminate the stigmatism surrounding special education courses and children with disabilities or disorders. 

"The stigmatism around, it's just something I've always had a thing with because I mean, it's not just because that you're not smart. It's more so you have a thing that you can't do," he said. 

To him, special education is a temporary place for kids to receive help. 

"We're helping you with it. We're doing what we can. That's what special education is. We're here to help you, help to guide you and once you get that under control, you're able to do what you're able to do that we weren't able to do before. You can move out. You're not going to prison just by going in special education," said Reynolds. 

The special education major's last day at Harbins Elementary will be in April of this year. He will continue his career at Central High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia teaching Geometry. A job that Reynolds says combines the two things he loves the most, math and special education. 

Although bittersweet, Reynolds hopes that his students remember him. 

"I'm just glad that I was able to help them the best that I could and even though I may not have been their actual teacher, I hope that they still remember me," he said.

 

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