Ms. Frazier is a paraprofessional who works with individual students. She’s been at Pace since the pandemic in the fall of 2021. She was working in the building during the year of remote and hybrid learning.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I love working with children. That’s my profession. Some hobbies I enjoy are cooking and reading.
How did you get started working at Pace with students?
When I was young, I used to always take care of the children in my neighborhood. I used to babysit kids [and] little things like that. That really sparked my interest in working with kids. So, I became a paraprofessional.
Did you always want to work with kids?
I’ve always wanted to work with kids, but I wasn’t going to go into the teaching aspect of it. I was leaning more towards the social-worker aspect to help unfortunate kids and get them away from a hard life. I wanted to help kids better and working in a school, I could do just that.
How do you like your job at Pace?
I love my job at Pace. I love Pace. It’s a nice community. I love the children here. The staff is great, and everyone helps everyone.
What’s the best thing you’ve seen so far while working at Pace?
The Pace community oriented events that occur here. I love Pacegiving because it brings everyone together and we get to share a meal together as a school. The shows are also one of my favorites, where everybody comes together for school plays and performances. So, those are some great things.
What’s your favorite aspect about working at Pace?
Working with the students. Like when I used to be in the fashion club, expressing our creativity in the form of clothes and fashion pieces. Things like that I really enjoy because I like fashion a lot. So just working hands on with the students, pretty much.
What is the worst thing you think you’ve seen at Pace?
Well, there was an incident. That happened last school year with pepper spray. The pepper spray incident was real. That was really bad. I was taken aback, and I didn’t like it because I was there and almost in the middle. Also many students were exposed to the pepper spray which I didn’t like at all.
Do you think there are any struggles or obstacles while working at Pace?
Getting through to certain students could sometimes be a little stressful. However, you keep trying because eventually you’ll get through and I always want children to do better. So, I don’t ever want to leave them hanging.
You previously said you babysat, did you do anything else before working at Pace?
Yes. I used to work at Imogen, so I was in the medical field. I was a receptionist for an Imogen place that does X-rays, mammograms, and sonograms. Although it was cool, I didn’t really like it as much.
Do you have any advice for the students of Pace?
Go for your dreams. Make sure you strive to be the best that you can be. Don’t let anybody tell You can’t do it because if you put in enough effort and dedication you’ll amount to greatness.
