Chromebooks Break and Dreams Don’t

Welcome From Myrtle Beach

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome to Spotlight for Success by American Book Company. I am Devin Pentozia, your host. We are here in partly cloudy, South Carolina. We are in Myrtle Beach. It's a wonderful day outside. We are here at the SCAVSE conference, and we are here with our special guest, Ebony Amiker. Ebony is joining us from uh she is a media clerk uh at uh Picalia Springs in Sumter School District. Uh so uh thank you for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Great.

Why SCAVSE Brought Her Here

SPEAKER_00 0:39

So can you tell us what brings you here today to ScabSe?

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Um I am here today as a part of a wonderful group. Um the Epic Apprenticeship is ran by the EPI Center, um, and it helps you, it helps a bunch of people who are already in the district proceed to um advancing their career goals of becoming teachers. So um, like you mentioned, I'm a media clerk at an elementary school, but my goal is to be in my own classroom, and this program helps me um to achieve that goal.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

Oh, that's great.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

And this conference has been amazing. Have you seen? It's just been beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

It's been a oh, there's so many things going on here. Well, what was there was there something in particular here at Scabsy? You're like, wow, it was such a fantastic takeaway.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Um, well, the main thing for me is that uh everybody here is so welcoming. Everybody here is so eager and so energetic. It's not one of those conferences where you're sitting in seminars and you're just you know nodding off. Um everyone that I've attended, every session I've attended has been um completely amazing. It's been very informative, and I've just I've enjoyed every aspect of it, even down to the vendors that are here. The vendors are amazing as well.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

Oh, that's fantastic.

The Real Work Of A Media Clerk

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Um Ebony, so uh tell me a bit about your your role there as a media clerk at the elementary school.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Um as a media clerk, I don't get to do as much. Of course, I have the role of having to check in the books, check them out, make sure that everything's um in order as far as the shelves go. I'm also in control of doing the IDs and Chromebook um text for the teachers as well as the students. So that can become a little hectic at times because these kids do not know how to handle their electronics. But um it's it's pretty good, it's pretty smooth-selling, and I and I do enjoy it. I um I'm a bookworm. So in my downtime, I get to it's a little bit nostalgic to be able to pick up those books that I remember reading in elementary or to help another student. Like, I don't know what to read. Um, I got one for you. So that's the best part of it to me is helping the kids find what we call the just right book for them, and to see the incitement on their face when they come back the next week and they're like, I finished it, or I know what happened, or is there a second book? So that's like um one of the greatest takeaways I have as a media clerk there.

Turning Limited Time Into Impact

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Gosh, Ebony, that sounds great. Do you have uh um uh something uh special that's happened recently? You're like wow, this is why I got into get starting getting started in the schools and uh looking at a potential teaching career as well.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Um not necessarily. Honestly, I did not realize that I could make an impact until being approached with the EPI um by the EPI Center. Um they helped me realize that you know what, this is it could be possible for you. Like you could actually do that, and it motivated me to get into that classroom to reach kids on a different level. Um, because I only get 45 minutes with them in the library. So being able to reach out and actually have that one-on-one time or be able to get to know individual students on another level, um, it it's amazing to me. So being approached um by the district with this opportunity is what really opened my eyes to saying, you know what, you may, this might just be it for

How Epic Apprenticeship Removes Barriers

SPEAKER_01 4:03

you.

SPEAKER_00 4:03

So Ebony, can you tell us a bit more about what the uh Epic Center does, the EPI Center? Epic.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Yeah, well the EPI Center it stands for the Center of Excellence for Educator Preparation and Innovation. Um there's a bunch of different programs that they have. Um, the one that I'm a part of is the Epic Apprenticeship. Um, that stands for Educators Prepared to Impact the Community. Um, and that's what drew me to them. They meet people who already work in the district or in the schools, um, and they help you wherever you are to obtain the goal of getting your teacher certification.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Um, me, I have the associates, but I don't have a bachelor's, so they have actually partnered with Worhees and I am getting my bachelor's. I have a colleague. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm doing pretty good. Not that you asked, but I'm doing really bad. Um I have another colleague who already had the has her bachelor's. She had took some sessions and she passed a practice on her very first try. Wow. So they give you um just anything that you you could pretty much need to jump over those hurdles, those everyday life-to-life hurdles. And like I said, they they work with ones that are already in the district, so you have that drive, that passion already. But you're able to work and obtain your so it doesn't you don't have to stop what you're doing to get where you want to go. Um, so I do appreciate that aspect of um the Epic apprenticeship. And um, they also work with teachers who are already certified through their Impact program as well. So it's just it's just amazing.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

That's wonderful. Is

Where To Find EPI Center

SPEAKER_00 5:39

there a website for Epic?

SPEAKER_01 5:41

Um, you could visit them on Facebook at the EpiCenter, um, and all their information and contact information is there. Um, shout out to our CEO, Dr. High Tao Mitchell. She is an amazing woman, and I do want to say thank you to all the staff and Falconsy at the EPI Center. They are amazing. They're they're just the best.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Oh, that's so wonderful. Well, um uh thank you so much. It's wonderful speaking with you, uh Ebony Hamaker, and uh and you're over there at Sumter District School District. Um, thank you so much for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

No problem. Thank you for having me. You guys have a wonderful, wonderful day.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

You too.