Yelena Gurskaya

Hello! My name is Yelena Gurskaya, and currently I am a graduate student in the Intellectual Disability/Autism program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Upon completion of this degree, I will hold three NY State Certifications. I will be certified in Special Education, Elementary Education, and Secondary English. In my undergraduate career, I studied English Literature and fulfilled my student teaching in seventh and eleventh grade classrooms. I was born in Lida, Belarus and came to the United States when I was ten years old.  While learning to read and write in the English language, I became intrigued by English literature. I was fascinated with the language used throughout the novels. It made me want to explore each and every word. Reading and learning new vocabulary gradually led me to become a writer myself. To this day, I have a passion for reading, writing, and learning. I also love children, and I am eager to teach the youth of tomorrow. As an educator, my goal is to grow and develop knowledge with my students. When they learn, I learn. A great teacher always researches, always learns, and tries to find new techniques to use in the classroom. This electronic portfolio will give a glimpse into some of the work I have developed throughout my career in the English Education Program at Stony Brook University and Special Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University.