Originally from Long Island, Lindsay Asselin attended the State University of New York and then went to get her masters in special ed at Syracuse. Over the summer she worked at Fenway Park and spent a lot of time on Cape Cod. She is also training for a half marathon.

What made you want to become a special ed teacher?

Originally I did not want to be a special ed teacher. My focus was math, and then I just saw school wasn’t as easy for me, so I saw the need for, I felt that I needed to be that person who would be the guide for students who might struggle, who are on IEPs, who just need that extra step of support. I decided to go for my masters in special ed and I just fell in love with it.

Did you like high school?

I did like high school. I feel like what I remember about high school is the sports that I was a part of. I played many sports such as tennis and track. I was also in orchestra so I played the viola from kindergarten through college. I would go to the music festivals and that was always a really cool experience because you got to meet people from other schools and its nice because it allows you to branch out.

What was your college experience like?

I liked the freedom. I think I just liked the schedule a lot. The classes were just Monday, Wednesday, Friday and then you might not have class on Thursday and it’s just freedom and independence, but a lot of it comes with responsibility. I went to SUNY Geneseo, kind of a smaller school in upstate New York.

What are your thoughts on OLS? It’s separate from the high school: how is that different? Do you feel the difference when it’s only freshmen?

For me because it’s such a big district it feels like its own school. And I think it’s in a nice way because I’ve only worked with seventh and eight graders, so it’s a nice way for me to transition to the higher levels. Eventually I would love to work with tenth, eleventh, twelfth graders, but right now I’m just getting into high school.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I am training for a half marathon, so I love and hate running. I like to read in the little time that I have, I know that teachers have a book club so I’m trying to join the book club. I love, love, love to cook and to bake. I love to make soup. It’s the oddest thing, but it’s so easy. I also love to bake cookies. I make these really good peanut butter chocolate chip, Reese’s cookies, so they are loaded.