Taylor Schneider ‘25 arrived at Bowling Green State University confident he wanted to become the third generation in his family to become an educator.

The specialization he wanted to pursue was unclear until a meeting with an academic advisor set him on a path to discovering a remarkable passion for teaching students with disabilities.

“BGSU helped me discover a love for teaching students with individualized needs, and I’m grateful for that,” Schneider said.

Schneider, of Perrysburg, graduated from BGSU with an intervention specialist degree in May and will begin teaching high school at Penta Career Center in the fall, filling a critical workforce need as schools in Ohio and nationwide continue to face teacher shortages in special education.

Through the University’s intervention specialist program — one of the largest in Ohio — students earn dual licensure in mild-moderate and moderate-intensive disabilities to meet the needs of all learners.

Early classroom experience

Among the distinguishing features of the nationally ranked education program at BGSU is its commitment to placing students in classrooms as early as their freshman year, allowing them to immediately connect their classroom knowledge to real-world experiences.

Most intervention specialist candidates log more than 1,000 classroom hours before graduation, exposing students to different grade levels and school districts.

For Schneider, his first field placement in a special needs classroom opened his eyes to the future he could provide for students.

“Being able to gain that experience so early in my college career helped me figure out that this is what I want to do,” he said. “This is the path I want to follow in education.”

During his senior year, Schneider completed his student teaching at Northview High School in Sylvania, Ohio, near Toledo, the culmination of years of preparation at BGSU, with cutting-edge technology like Mursion — BGSU is the only university in Ohio with the virtual reality platform — and through field placements.

Schneider said he brought all those experiences into the classroom while continuing to learn from his mentor teacher and two-time BGSU alumna Jessie Weisenberger ‘13, ‘19, an intervention specialist at Northview High School.

Changing lives

“I have had an incredible support network throughout my entire journey at BGSU, from my professors, to my mentor teacher and my family,” Schneider said. “I feel incredibly prepared for my future in teaching.”

Weisenburger said she valued Schneider’s willingness to bring new ideas to the classroom and enjoyed watching him gain more confidence and skills throughout the fall and spring semesters.

“He’s grown and flourished from the first week in small groups to working with the whole class very effectively,” she said. “BGSU students are confident, ready to jump into the classroom and are willing to take risks to make sure they do a good job.”

Growing up in a family of educators, Schneider said his father, a professor and sport administration program coordinator at BGSU, instilled in him the power of teachers to change lives — a lesson he plans to take into his own teaching career.

“My father always shared with me that even if something seems mundane or routine to an educator, it can be life-changing to those being educated,” Schneider said. “I always want to keep that top of mind, never taking for granted my ability to positively impact the lives of my students every day.”