Shelby Wiggins Story

Harper’s Unsung Heros May 2023 Written by Gale Fischer

Giving Unto Others

“The purpose of human life is to serve and show compassion and the will to help others.”

—-Albert Schweitzer

 

Instructing young children how to read,  guiding pre-teens through the steps of multi-step math problem solving and preparing high school students as they transition to adulthood are all basic expectations when it comes to teaching our youth. These are tasks that we all are called to do as educators. As important as these parts of the job descriptions are for teachers, there are many tangibles that are needed to enhance the growth and learning of all students. These intangibles are similar to the philosophy of many great football coaches with the premise that there is so much more to coaching than Xs and Os. One of these qualities that strengthens the teaching and learning connection between child and adult is compassion. Compassion is defined as “to empathize with someone who is suffering and to feel compelled to reduce the suffering”. I feel that compassion can be given to anyone including those experiencing minor distress to others who are in the midst of a high level of suffering. Compassion is a character trait that is on display in all employees of every corner of Harper Creek School District. One of the greatest character traits of this month’s Harper Unsung Hero, Shelby Wiggins, is compassion. Her ability to be compassionate goes beyond the walls of Wattles Park Elementary.

Shelby was born November 23, 1992 in Battle Creek to Betram and Sherry Wiggins. She is the third youngest with two sisters and five step brothers. Shelby has many memories from her childhood which have helped her to reach many of our students at Wattles Park Elementary. “My parents split up when I was three years old. My memories from my childhood are not all good. When my parents first split up my siblings and I stayed with our mom and she didn’t want my dad to see us.”

Shelby’s dad desperately wanted to be a part of the lives of his children. The fighting between her mom and dad was difficult to experience for Shelby as a young child but the ensuing custody battle after they split created an even more hostile environment. “There was a custody battle between my mom and dad which created a toxic environment. I can remember just as I started Kindergarten, the courts finally determined that there would be split custody. I would rotate households spending one week with my dad and one week with my mom.”  Although her life would calm down a level or two after the court’s decision, tension still remained. “It seemed that each parent still tried to pit me and my siblings against the other parent. The tension continued and it really wasn’t until I went into middle school when this seemed to change.” 

Bertram and Sherry’s parenting styles were completely opposite but this wasn’t all bad for Shelby. “My dad was strict but my mom let us do whatever we wanted. My mom had ongoing struggles with mental health so her parenting skills were not as organized. My dad’s structure really helped me in my teens and in becoming the adult that I am today.”  The structure provided by her dad seemed to be just what Shelby needed to thrive. Everyother week with her mom created a nice break from the stearness of her dad but at the same time she was able to use the organization skills she learned from her dad to help her navigate through the time she spent in her mom’s home. 

Shelby began school at Battle Creek Public, attending elementary school at Valley View before moving on to Springfield Middle School. She was shy and reserved but this didn’t prevent her from forming strong, positive friendships. When it came time for Shelby to start her high school career her dad decided that he didn’t want his children attending Battle Creek Central. “My dad sent me to Lakeview for high school which was hard for me because I had some very close friends from Battle Creek Public. One of my very best friends was Alicia Eakins. We met in third grade.”

Alicia’s mom realized how close Shelby and Alicia were so she sent Alicia to Lakeview as well so the two could be together. Shelby may have been born with compassion in her DNA but she would be the beneficiary of compassion as well from Alicia. “In Middle School I was loner and was picked on because I was poor. Alica stuck up for me. She was bigger than everyone else so when she stuck up for me others stopped bullying me.” 

Like many high school students, Shelby participated in athletics but it wasn’t by choice. “When I was in high school my dad said that we either had to participate in sports or work. I played volleyball until I was old enough to get a job. I didn’t get to play much in any of our matches but I didn’t mind. I wasn’t good at sports and didn’t enjoy it.”  Shelby was more than ready to enter the workforce so that she could end her career as a high school athlete. “I got a job at Taco Bell when I was fifteen and worked there until I started working at Harper Creek when I was twenty.” 

Shelby enjoyed working at Taco Bell but she knew that there was more for her. As a child she always thought that she would enjoy being a teacher. Her dad had a friend who worked for Harper Creek’s transportation department and she found out about a job that they were looking to fill. “I started out as a bus aide for Harper Creek in 2013. I worked on the bus that transported students in wheelchairs.”  Working as a bus aide wasn’t necessarily what she envisioned as she dreamt of being a teacher years earlier but this opportunity allowed her to utilize her compassionate side, something that seemed to come natural to her. 

Shelby continued working for Harper Creek’s transportation department for two years until her next opportunity. “In 2015 I went to Beadle Lake as a GRSP teacher. I did that for a year before I was offered a job at Wattles Park as a  Kindergarten classroom aide. A year later I  transitioned to a job as a  para-professional interventionist at Wattles. This is my current position.” Although Shelby entered the workforce full time after graduating from high school she continued to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. “After high school I attended KCC to work on an associates degree in general education and early childhood education. I finished both of these programs in 2015.” 

As Shelby transitioned from high school and into adulthood as a worker and college student she was forced to deal with a medical setback. “Shortly after graduating I started having nocturnal seizures. I was diagnosed with epilepsy.” These seizures were scary for sure but fortunately she was diagnosed and her doctor was able to prescribe medication to control her seizures. She has not had a seizure since starting the medication. 

Shelby has enjoyed her time helping young students and providing intervention to those struggling with reading, writing and basic math skills. The relationships built between teachers and students in an elementary classroom with the majority of each day spent together are nearly impossible to duplicate in the same way as pulling groups of children each day for shorter segments. There are ways that adults such as Shelby can establish strong bonds with students that are unique. As an interventionist Shelby works with kids in small groups, giving her a greater opportunity to provide more enhanced attention. For many of her students she is able to get to know them starting in Kindergarten going forward through fourth grade. Shelby’s strong sense of compassion has played a key part in the interactions she has with these struggling students. 

Teaching these young students how to read and write has been a great source of satisfaction for Shelby but her interactions with these children beyond academics has made her realize that there is more that she wants to do. “After working in my current position at Wattles Park for a few years I began to realize that I liked helping kids who were struggling with things beyond academics. For years I had wanted to be a social worker and my time spent with my students has confirmed this.”

Her desire to help children eventually led Shelby to going back to school. The setbacks that occurred from the seizures that she experienced helped to push her in this direction as well. “I felt that the seizures had caused me to have some memory issues. I had done some research and learned  that people who go back to school who are epileptic experienced success in improving their memory. The time spent studying and reading was beneficial. I decided to enroll at Siena Heights to study family and community social work. I earned a BA degree in the fall of 2022 in this area.” 

Shelby recently started working a second job which has helped  her to hone some of the same skills she hopes to use someday as a social worker. “In June of 2022 I started working for Wings of a Dove, an organization that specializes in counseling services. I am a parent aide. I work with families and parents on basics including how to parent, how to fill out job applications or whatever needs they might have. I do this in the evenings and weekends.” 

Shelby’s dream job would be to work as a school counselor. “I want to work with kids on how to be kind, how to get along with others and how to control their emotions.”  Although she feels her calling is to be a counselor she is not ready to give up her job as an interventionist at Wattles Park. She really struggles with the idea of no longer working with her current students but there is another layer to her desire to stay in her position at Wattles Park for now.  Shelby’s nephew, Wyatt, has come to school with Shelby since he started in Kindergarten. Wyatt is currently in third grade as a school of choice student. He has established many friendships at Wattles Park. If Shelby were to find a job elsewhere, Wyatt would have to attend school in his resident district. Shelby wants to see Wyatt continue as a Wattles Park Student. 

In the midst of working full time and going to school to obtain her family and community social work degree, Shelby has taken on more responsibilities for her family. “About two years ago I started taking care of my grandparents. Both are deaf. My grandma had started showing signs of dementia and my grandpa started showing signs of  Alzheimer’s Disease. I would go there every evening to help them.” Other members of Shelby’s family feel that her grandparents should go to a nursing home but Shelby is not ready for this yet. She has noticed a regression with both and the amount of assistance required in the last two years, forcing her to increase her level of support. “When I first began helping them I would go over each night after work but I recently moved in with them which has allowed more time for me to spend with them. They require assistance more than just the evenings so my family recently hired someone to come in and help them with breakfast and lunch each day while I am at work.” Shelby realizes that as the disease progresses her grandparents will require more assistance than what she can provide while working full time. Her uncle is recovering from hip surgery and he and his wife plan on moving in with her grandparents in a year to become their full time providers. Shelby is hopeful she will be able to provide the level of assistance they require until then. 

There is no denying that college coursework and mandatory classroom student teaching placements are necessary in becoming a teacher. Shelby has put herself through these requirements to give her some of the tools that she has utilized in her years as a Harper Creek employee. Her experiences growing up with a level of family dysfunction and her ability to grow and thrive despite this has prepared her as much as anything in working with our struggling learners. The level of compassion that her past has given her has served her and the students at Wattles Park Elementary well.