Each week, we are spotlighting one faculty member at Norco College to help you get
to know about them and the program that they teach. This week's faculty spotlight
is on Dr. Sarah Burnett, Professor of Early Childhood Education.
One wrong turn transformed Dr. Sarah Burnett’s life. After obtaining a degree in Social Anthropology at the University of Wales at Swansea, she worked managerial positions at both The Bombay Company and Laura Ashley. But an auspicious detour while visiting the University of Maryland changed the course of her career forever. As she strolled through the halls of UM one afternoon, Sarah got lost in the special education department and started reading the literature posted on the boards, specifically those on Early Childhood Special Education. She had an epiphany.
In almost every job she’d ever had, Sarah was always teaching. In high school, she worked with her art teacher to help children with special needs. When she graduated, she taught biology to school children in West Africa. Even in her retail positions, Sarah was always tasked with training new employees. She realized it was time for a career shift. She first enrolled in American Sign Language classes and ultimately completed a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education at The Johns Hopkins University. The retail industry’s loss was a gain for children with special needs.
“I am a firm believer that the first five years of a child’s life are the most important,” Sarah says of her specialization. “After completing my Master’s, I had the privilege of being the program director at Creative Home Programs, an organization that goes into homes and works with families who have children with disabilities under the age of three. I wanted to train people in this important work that changes the lives of children at the most crucial point in their development.” She also has a PhD in Education with a specialization in special education from Claremont University.
One wrong turn transformed Dr. Sarah Burnett’s life. After obtaining a degree in Social Anthropology at the University of Wales at Swansea, she worked managerial positions at both The Bombay Company and Laura Ashley. But an auspicious detour while visiting the University of Maryland changed the course of her career forever. As she strolled through the halls of UM one afternoon, Sarah got lost in the special education department and started reading the literature posted on the boards, specifically those on Early Childhood Special Education. She had an epiphany.
In almost every job she’d ever had, Sarah was always teaching. In high school, she worked with her art teacher to help children with special needs. When she graduated, she taught biology to school children in West Africa. Even in her retail positions, Sarah was always tasked with training new employees. She realized it was time for a career shift. She first enrolled in American Sign Language classes and ultimately completed a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education at The Johns Hopkins University. The retail industry’s loss was a gain for children with special needs.
“I am a firm believer that the first five years of a child’s life are the most important,” Sarah says of her specialization. “After completing my Master’s, I had the privilege of being the program director at Creative Home Programs, an organization that goes into homes and works with families who have children with disabilities under the age of three. I wanted to train people in this important work that changes the lives of children at the most crucial point in their development.” She also has a PhD in Education with a specialization in special education from Claremont University.