“[Students] can do anything they want to as long as they try.”

Background

• Grew up in Hampton, Georgia
• Graduated from Faith Academy

Education

• Currently enrolled in emergency medical training school

Responsibilities

• Paraprofessional working in Courtney Savage’s career-based vocational instruction class

This year, former Fayette County Public Schools bus driver Ryan Atkins discovered his desire to teach and choose to work at Starr’s Mill. He decided to teach so that he could “[see] the progress the students make throughout the year,” Atkins said.

When working with students with special needs, Atkins finds it necessary to “get involved and show them how to do things so they have a visual,” Atkins said.

Atkins is currently enrolled at EMT school and sees himself as a firefighter paramedic in the future. He would like to go back to college to earn a degree in physical education, which is required to become a firefighter paramedic.

So far, Atkins has enjoyed his time here and “[looks] forward to the experience and opportunities that working here can bring,” Atkins said.