Devon Dobyne has known for a long time that he wanted to pursue a teaching career, but he was trying to figure out the best opportunity from a financial, flexibility and timing standpoint.
The financial support and cohort-based experience the Sirtify® program provided made it a perfect fit for Devon, and this past May he completed his associate degree in education at Normandale.
“I started as a paraprofessional seven years ago and I wanted to do more,” said Dobyne. “I knew I needed to go back to school. When I looked for scholarships to help pay for the path to become a teacher, I found the Sirtify® (what was at that time Black Men in Teaching) program at Normandale was the best option. I came to a retreat to meet other students and the program coordinator (who was Marvis Kilgore at the time), and I knew right away I wanted to be part Sirtify®.”
Devon currently works at New City Charter School in Northeast Minneapolis, but the seeds to work in education were planted when he worked as a school bus monitor before his time at New City.
“Being around the kids as a school bus monitor brought me a different type of enjoyment and excitement then I previously had in other jobs,” said Dobyne. “I worked at a couple of corporate jobs after that, but when I started at New City, I knew for sure that I wanted to make a difference and do more. The only way to do that was to get a bigger role.”
Devon started as a paraprofessional at New City, but he worked with his supervisor to get a temporary licensure to teach a seventh-grade special education class. Two big reasons his supervisor gave Devon the opportunity, were because he was in the process of getting his education degree, and he received a recommendation from the Sirtify® Program Coordinator.
“The transition from paraprofessional to special education teacher has been great, because I knew most of the kids when they were in first grade,” said Dobyne. “Special education is my focus, and one thing I like about the current position is that I get to be around the students all day.”
The degree and recommendation were not the only ways that Sirtify® has helped Devon succeed. Being part of a cohort and the development activities in the program were also important parts of the process.
“I learned so much from everyone, and I learned about myself as a person,” said Dobyne. “Before this program, I was living my life without much hope for changing and pursuing what I really wanted to do. Having people come in and talk about their journeys, and hearing that they had common experiences to me was important. I also had peers in my cohort on a similar path to me, and advisors and instructors in the program I could go to for advice. This program brought a whole different meaning to life, and got me back to school.”
Devon has a daughter who will be attending St. Cloud State University on an athletic scholarship and will be majoring in special education. He appreciated the timing of getting his associate degree as she was starting her college journey.
“It was big for me to be able to be the first generation in my family to graduate,” said Dobyne. “For my kids to see me go back to school and graduate while they are going to school is magical.”
Devon is transferring to Metro State University where he will be pursuing his degree in education, and preparing to complete his journey to become a Special Education Teacher.
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