March 1 was Employee Appreciation Day! We are celebrating our team members all month long by sharing their stories. Read more about Taylor Ricciardi, Therapist, and how much she enjoys seeing her students grow and flourish.
What is your favorite thing about working here?
I love collaborating with different staff and working with the kids.
What keeps you coming to work each day?
The kids – I love how resilient they are and always eager to learn and grow as individuals.
How do you make an impact on students’ lives?
By meeting the students where they are emotionally, mentally, academically. I try and teach them all about emotions and feelings and how to manage them in a positive way.
Last year, we rolled out our BetterTogether guiding principles. Which one of our values resonates with you most personally and why? (Integrity, Accountable, Collaborative, Inclusive, Supportive).
I think collaborative personally resonates with me the most because I truly think it is so important to work together to best support the kids. Collaborating with the school staff, outside providers and parents to figure out how to best support the kids is so important. Each person in this process can provide a little piece of knowledge or experience so that you can support the child and meet them where they are.
What does a “day in the life” look like for your role?
A day in the life of this role entails having thirty-minute sessions with students, collaborating with staff, preparing for SEL lessons, documenting, sending emails/making phone calls and prepping for the next day/week.
Can you talk a little bit about your career trajectory and what led you to where you are now?
I have always enjoyed working with children and helping them grow and develop in a world where talking about and expressing feelings is a positive thing. I would like to continue to work in the schools and try and create more mental health programs for kids within the system. I have previously interned at a couple of schools running social emotional learning lessons and collaborating with staff during the pandemic. These lessons were crucial for kids during the time because they were navigating a scary time where school and life looked so different for them.
What has been your proudest moment or accomplishment in your role?
One of my students went from not really talking at all to being open and honest when expressing her needs and wants. She is now able to verbalize her feelings and utilize the necessary coping skills when she is feeling dysregulated.
What is something about you that not many people know?
I am a volunteer for the Traumatic Loss Coalition. We use psychological first aid to respond to different tragedies that have occurred in schools or impacted the school community.
