TTR Graduate / Special Education Teacher
Temple University
Hi I’m Nyana Cofer,
A Philadelphia native, I am 32 years old and a first generation college student. I am the middle child of 3 biologically however, at around 10 years of age my mother and father started the process of adopting my niece and nephew out of the foster care system as my older sister battled with a drug addiction. My oldest nephew was also raised with my family from when I was just a toddler was just an infant. My parents made sure we had a good childhood. We had all of our needs met and I remember having a pretty pleasant childhood. In 2002 a sudden stage 4 diagnosis of liver cancer plague my best friend , my father one of the people who taught me how to be strong initially. He lost his battle November 22, 2002 only 3 months after discovering his illness and several day before the Thanksgiving Holiday. Although it was devastating I couldn’t help but want to be strong for my mother and my family. I had to grow up fast because I became the eldest in my home. Taking on such responsibility forced me to mature, and I knew that the decisions I made especially if they were negative would hurt my widowed mother. I did everything I could to stay off her radar making sure I stayed on top of school work and helped around the house also helping with my siblings. It was very hard to stay away from those negative influences that could have easily changed the trajectory of my life. Through high school I found it very hard to find motivation. I suffered from depression, was in and out of therapy as professionals felt I haven’t processed the death of my father. I don’t think I did and it reflected in my spirit. It wasn’t until I had several staff in high school pour into me in and awake that passion within. In 2016 I obtained a position with the School District of Philadelphia as a Special Education Paraprofessional, I fell in love with my job. Today will be the third day since I completed my Masters in Special Education. I give an abundance of gratitude to my family,friends and especially TTR (Temple Teacher Residency) for providing this opportunity while guiding and molding me into Ms.Cofer a Special Education Teacher and Temple Teacher Resident Graduate.
Residency Programs: Increasing Educator Profession-readiness
Friday, February 16, 2024
3:15 PM – 4:15 PM MST