To eight students with disabilities, Ellie Radabaugh is no regular college student – she’s the indispensable Miss Rad.

Radabaugh, a native of Brunswick, Ohio, west of Cleveland, always knew she wanted to be a teacher.

Naturally, she took the next steps at Bowling Green State University, the largest producer of teachers at a single site in Ohio, which has provided a blueprint for success in her future career as an intervention specialist.

“If you want to be an educator, you go to Bowling Green,” Radabaugh said. “I think the tools and content that I’ve learned as a student at BGSU translate every day to being a student teacher.”

As she completes her student teaching in a K-2 special education class at Highland Elementary in Sylvania outside Toledo alongside alumna Jaimee McNamara ’07, ’12, Radabaugh’s final semester has been one filled with growth.

The placement has allowed her to accomplish many goals by gaining vital classroom experience, meeting the needs of students, collaborating with professionals in the field and fulfilling a lifelong desire to be a special education teacher due to a familial connection.

Her older sister, Marin, was a student with disabilities on an individualized education plan (IEP) whose success into adulthood served as inspiration.

“I went into special education specifically because of my sister, who is one of my favorite people in the world,” Radabaugh said. “My sister had a stroke before she was born, so she has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism, so she had an IEP and went through special education.

“She is one of the strongest people I know. She is super resilient and has defied all the odds.”

During her time at BGSU, Radabaugh has poured her passion into refining her skills as an educator.

All intervention specialist majors finish their undergraduate careers at BGSU with effectively two degrees, as they are prepared to teach in both mild-moderate and moderate-intensive classrooms at levels ranging from K-12.

In addition to her coursework, Radabaugh’s field placements have run the gamut from teaching kindergartners to high schoolers, all of whom came with individualized needs as students.

The volume of time in the field – most intervention specialist candidates approach 1,000 classroom hours prior to graduation – has left Radabaugh highly prepared for her first year as a professional and ready to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

“I can absolutely tell that Ellie is a BGSU student because she comes in every day professionally, she knows the expectations and she’s constantly reflecting on what she did and what could have gone better,” McNamara said. “She’s bringing in intervention ideas that are recent and current that I know she’s gotten from BGSU.”

Conversely, Radabaugh had an additional resource unique to many of the University’s education students: a mentor teacher who is a BGSU graduate.

BGSU students often complete their student teaching placements with professional teachers who are Falcons, providing an additional layer of support as they sharpen their skills prior to having their own classrooms.

With teachers all over the state and beyond, many preservice teachers from BGSU encounter fellow alumni who were once in their shoes.

“Mrs. ‘Mac’ has been so vital in me being successful here,” Radabaugh said. “I started teaching one lesson that she wrote, and then we scaffolded it to where I’m writing part of a lesson and worked our way up until I was able to do everything. It took a lot of trial and error – teaching and then reflecting.

“I’ve had to learn how to be more confident in myself and to trust my gut instinct as a teacher, which has been really cool to develop.”

The process of working with a veteran educator often helps preservice teachers like Radabaugh develop in real time – refining lessons, improving their classroom management skills and ultimately reaching students.

“I’ve had some great student teachers who will look at me after a lesson and say, ‘OK, what now?’” McNamara said. “Then we talk through it, and the next lesson, they’re back at it and trying to make it better.”

Through her coursework and field placements, Radabaugh said she received affirmation that she was on the right path.

The College of Education and Human Development, which is home to 28 different teacher preparation programs, is led by faculty who work with students, root for their success and serve as critical resources on their journey to graduation day.

“I loved being an education major at Bowling Green,” Radabaugh said. “I feel like I always have someone in my corner. My professors have been nothing but wonderful and are always willing to give extra help.”

As she concludes her final semester at BGSU, Radabaugh said she feels ready for her next steps as an educator to fulfill her goal of inspiring children like her sister.

“If I can help kids like her believe they can do more than what people tell them, that’s all I want,” Radabaugh said. “I would be really fulfilled if I could do that. This is all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

McNamara said that when she sees Radabaugh interact with the students, she knows Radabaugh is ready for her own classroom.

“She’s creative and funny and she just gets kids. She’s a natural,” McNamara said. “The kids have held her hand before they held my hand, and sometimes they choose her over me.

“It’s just so wonderful to see the love of teaching is still brewing in the next generation.”