Hello All! My name is Venus McDaniel. I have been in the education world for about 15 years. Whew! When I say that, it seems like forever! I began my career while I was in my junior year of college. I was on a criminal justice degree track with aspirations of attending law school. My ultimate goal was to become a judge. While in school, there was an advertisement posted for an after-school worker at a daycare. The hours were superb and the pay was decent…..$9.00 per hour in 2003 was pretty good! I juggled with the thought of, “I don’t have experience with children”, but the proposed schedule was excellent: M-F 3:00-6:00pm was doable and I’ve already shared my thoughts on the pay. I never expected to get hired, but I did. What I did not anticipate was falling in love with the profession. I absolutely loved being with the children. One semester went by and the director inquired about me being a teacher’s aide. I happily obliged, one because I was still infatuated with the profession and two, she wanted to work with my schedule.
I will never forget, one day on a field trip, the Director revealed her thoughts to me, exclaiming, ” You are going to run one of my schools one day.” I laughed it off because I still had plans for law school even as I was enjoying my new-found love for education. Never in a million years did I put stock in her words. After I graduated college, there was a newly found passion looming over my head that I couldn’t shake. Needless to say, after graduation, I started there as a Math and Science teacher. Now I am the Assistant Principal and head of the Math and Science department. Now, I am pursuing my Educational Admin degree and technology leadership degree to further my leadership skills and prepare for new ventures that await me.
The McDaniel View 