忠诚的教练和特殊需求的倡导者

For Stephanie Miller ’02, her education degree from 皇冠体育 set her up for a career in teaching and coaching that is still going strong more than 20 years later.

作为温顿-谢尔斯堡社区学区的特殊教育协调员，她在一年多前开始担任这个职位，她的工作是确保学区所有特殊教育教师和工作人员都能得到他们需要的支持。 A longtime special education teacher and advocate, it’s a job that is especially meaningful to her.

“I was going to Mount Mercy when my brother was diagnosed with developmental delays, and I was already on the path to becoming a teacher,” Stephanie recalled. “That’s when I decided that I wanted to help families like mine with kids that had exceptional delays.”

在Mount Mercy就读期间，Stephanie也是田径和排球运动员，现在是她第19年的教练生涯，其中包括在Mount Mercy执教9年，在中学男生执教8年，现在在vintton - shellsburg执教2年的校队女生。

For her dedication to her profession, Stephanie is the 2025 recipient of Mount Mercy’s Professional Achievement alumni award, given annually to a graduate for significant contributions or achievement in their chosen professional field.

“It’s very exciting and I’m very honored,” she said.

斯蒂芬妮来自爱荷华州邓迪市，她在那里的斯塔蒙特高中上学。 She had met Mount Mercy’s volleyball coach through club volleyball, and was encouraged to visit the campus.

“I had tours of other places, and I just felt like I belonged at Mount Mercy,” Stephanie said.

斯蒂芬妮作为一名两项运动的运动员获得了成功，并在大四那年获得了60米跨栏的全国资格赛。 她说，她与队友的经历以及在体育部工作的时光是她最美好的回忆之一。

“I do feel like my experience at Mount Mercy with the track team has kind of directed my life,” Stephanie said.

在学术上，斯蒂芬妮决定主修小学教育，并开始了自己的教学生涯。

“I always wanted to be a teacher, since I was very little,” she said. “I saw my teachers as people to look up to, and when I heard that Mount Mercy had an exceptional education department, I think that kind of solidified it.”

有一个患有自闭症的哥哥促使她走上了特殊教育的道路，而慈悲山为她提供了实地经验和学生教学的机会，为她开始自己的职业生涯奠定了基础。

“I gained a network of other teachers and administrators that I was able to connect with after 

graduation,” she said. “I was well prepared to step into the classroom, into my first teaching role, because of my student teaching and because of my preparation in my classes.”

After graduation, Stephanie taught for two years at Tanager Place, a children’s human service agency in Cedar Rapids, before arriving at Vinton-Shellsburg as a special education teacher with a focus on elementary-aged students. 虽然她最近担任了目前监督该地区特殊教育的职务，但她偶尔仍会填补空缺，直接与学生们一起工作。

“I think that the coolest part of my job is I get to watch kids grow... I also work pretty closely with parents, so I can be an advocate for our students through the years that they have here.” —Stephanie Miller ’02

“I think that the coolest part of my job is I get to watch kids grow, and then I get to go back and let their kindergarten teacher know ‘Hey, did you know so-in-so is now doing this?’ I also work pretty closely with parents, so I can be an advocate for our students through the years that they have here.”

Along the way, Stephanie has added to her academic accomplishments by earning a master’s degree in special education and teaching from Morningside College. 斯蒂芬妮和她的丈夫亚当以及他们的两个儿子杰克森和格雷森住在厄巴纳。

Stephanie said she feels fortunate to work for a school district that puts resources in place to help students with special needs—and said it’s rewarding to have an impactful role in helping them.

“That was my goal, to be able to continue to interact with students and parents,” she said, “and to be able to support our teachers as well.

“Special ed teachers need support,” Stephanie continued. “That’s something that I can do here for them.”