From a young age, Sasha Pabis has wanted to inspire others to learn. The 2017 Oakdale High School graduate is passionate about her role as a third grade teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing.
Scholarships from multiple funds were instrumental in covering tuition costs and facilitating her teaching internship, which provided practical skills and career preparation.
After graduating from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, in 2021 with bachelor’s degrees in deaf education and elementary education, Pabis continued her education and became the first graduate of Flagler College’s fast track master’s program in deaf education in 2022.
Sasha has conducted research in Frederick County that has been featured by the Florida Educators of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Association and the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education.
Today, her primary objective as an educator is to “inspire and empower her students to become lifelong learners by creating an environment where they can thrive and make meaningful connections with the skills and content explored together.” She also hopes to further her research on vocabulary interventions for deaf and hard of hearing students and possibly coach teachers to implement vocabulary practices in their own classrooms in the future.
Sasha received scholarships from The Frederick County Retired School Personnel Association Scholarship Endowment Fund, The Mary E.M. and Ruth E. Smith Scholarship Fund, The Cathie Duncan Speech-Language Scholarship Fund, The Don and Rosa Rippeon Scholarship Fund, and The Frederick County Retired School Personnel Association/Dr. Richard and Patricia Petre Scholarship Fund.
This story and others are featured in the Community Foundation’s fiscal year 2024 annual report.