Staff Spotlight: Amanda
Amanda reading a book with one of the children who was enrolled in our summer program.
After six years with US Together, our Columbus staff is very sad to say goodbye to Amanda while she returns to teaching. As a dedicated case manager, Amanda has touched many lives through her work. Her future students are very lucky to be getting such a dedicated and compassionate teacher.
Amanda earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in globalization and educational change. The latter program focused on educational impacts worldwide and the effects of globalization. There was a big conversation around displaced education, so she had a strong background in the issues she would come to see first hand while working at US Together.
“You get to meet so many people from so many different places. You learn their stories, and you learn from them. I became a mom while I was here, and I learned from a lot of moms.”
Coming from a Syrian family, she was familiar with the war and resulting refugee crisis it was starting to produce in 2013 and 2014. She started to look up immigration efforts in Columbus to see how she could use her expertise in education to serve the community.
As Amanda was finishing her master’s program, she interviewed with US Together in July 2014. She started as a volunteer in January 2015 and soon transitioned to staff by March. Coming in under a United Way grant, she was placed in the position of parent-school liaison. Since then, she has served in countless roles with our organization, ranging from employment services to group education to victim’s services.
When asked about her favorite part of working at US Together, Amanda did not miss a moment to answer with the clients. She said, “you get to meet so many people from so many different places. You learn their stories, and you learn from them. I became a mom while I was here, and I learned from a lot of moms.” When she had her son, she brought him with her when doing client visits. Her son even took his first steps in a client’s apartment. She mentioned how grateful she was to learn how to be a parent from those who look at parenting a lot differently.
Her favorite project that she worked on was helping parents navigate the school system. Providing children with the tools to gain more support in the classroom was extremely rewarding. Amanda understands Arabic, which has helped her throughout her time in this role. She mentioned that her skills were at their best when US Together was serving many Syrian and Iraqi refugees.
We wish Amanda the best of luck as she transitions back into being a school teacher. Outside of work, she can be found hanging out with her family, hiking and camping, knitting. She has found the time to get back into the hobbies she loves but hasn’t had a chance to do in years.