Born in Peoria, Illinois, special education teacher Amanda Bohart loved school and always wanted to be a teacher, despite struggling.

“I have a learning disability which causes things that I hear to be difficult for me to understand,” Bohart said. “It is more of a auditory processing issue. I understand things better if I do them or if I can see and read them. But if I just listen, only half of the information gets in. So there is a little delay there.”

This is Bohart’s first year at West.

Even though she faced challenges in school like going to summer school, failing a couple of classes, repeating a few classes, and having issues with organization, she didn’t let that stop her from achieving her goals.

“Life keeps everybody pretty busy. You just have to find the best balance that you can and be as successful as possible,” Bohart said.

Although she always wanted to be a teacher, Bohart did look into business. However, due to her own experiences she decided to become a special education teacher.

“Because of my own learning issues I’ve been able to help get students through school, learn as much as possible, and identify their own strategies to help them learn and be stronger students because of my own experiences” Bohart said.

Bohart’s favorite part of being a teacher is being with students.

“I enjoy listening to their lives when they share their lives with me and getting to know the things that are important to them and things that aren’t important to them,” Bohart said.

–Special education teacher Amanda Bohart