Khamphet Saysamone has been at Radford for seven years, and she is now working as the new special education math teacher in room 265. Mrs. Saysamone had started her work in the education field right after high school by helping out in an AVID program.

“I started my first career in education right after high school 1992. My first job after high school was in an AVID program, as a side job while attending college. I was not really interested in teaching at the time,” says Mrs. Saysamone.

She wanted to be a nurse practitioner after college because she wasn’t interested in teaching. While attending college, she was accepted into a respiratory therapist program. However, she found that there were challenges in the medical field she wasn’t prepared for.

“While doing my internship, I excelled; however, I quickly learned the medical field involved emotions. Emotions that I wasn’t ready for. I resorted to teaching and since I had a number of science courses, I chose Special Education as the next best field of study,” says Mrs. Saysamone.

She went on to earn an Associate degree, a Bachelor’s degree, and a Master’s degree, at Merced College, Stanislaus State University, and University of the Pacific, all of which are in California. Before moving to Hawaii in 2011, she taught as a Resource teacher in grades K-12. When she got to Hawaii, she continued her work in the education field full-time until 2015, when she started teaching only as a substitute teacher.

“I resorted to teaching and since I had a number of science courses, I chose Special Education as the next best field of study. I have obtained an Associate degree, a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree while in California,” said Mrs. Saysamone.

She has been a substitute teacher and has worked for Radford for over 7 years, and now she’s become a teacher here. Teaching her Special Education Math class this year, her students can expect her to keep the learning going, so one can learn as much as possible.

“My students expect my experience as a person and an educator. Learning never ceased…opportunities never ceased. Be open to learning and allow yourself to be immersed in the art of education,” says Mrs. Saysamone.