Caitlyn Byrne
Moravian College Class of 2019
Special Education Major with Early Childhood and Special Education Certifications
My name is Caitlyn Byrne. I graduated from Perkiomen Valley High School (Collegeville, PA) in 2015 and began studying at Moravian College (Bethlehem, PA) in Fall 2015. I graduated in the Spring of 2019 with a degree in Special Education and certification in both Early Childhood and Special Education.
Growing up, I danced and played basketball for many years. I also played field hockey for a few years. Sports are one of my major hobbies. I am a fan of all the Philadelphia sports teams, especially the Flyers and Phillies. Spending time at the beach with my friends and family is another one of my favorite activities. Over the summer when I am not in school, I work as an Assistant Site Supervisor for Camp Shamrock run by Limerick Township Parks & Recreation.
My desire to become an educator has existed since the time I began school in kindergarten. As a student, I always enjoyed school. Throughout my own educational experiences, my teachers had a significant impact on me. We spend a lot of our time in school and my teachers always made that time memorable. My teachers served as role models who helped to guide me through both good and bad educational experiences as I progressed through school. As I enter the field of education, I hope to have the same type of impact on my students as my teachers had on me.
During college I was an member and served on the executive board for the Moravian College Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP). This organization is an international honor society in education. The mission of KDP is as follows: "Kappa Delta Pi advances quality education by inspiring teachers to prepare all learners for future challenges." KDP is an international organization that seeks to unify educators. The organization provides connections for members through daily forums, webinars, and other resources. My membership to this organization exemplifies excellence and dedication to the field of education.
Service work and helping others are major passions for me. In high school I coached youth basketball and served as a big sister in our Big Brothers Big Sisters Program. At Moravian College, I took part in the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity, worked as an America Reads tutor, and served as a mentor for a student at William Penn Elementary School.
I previously served as both the president and secretary for the Moravian College Habitat Chapter. As an active member of this organization, I helped establish on campus events and volunteer opportunities at the local Lehigh Valley ReStore. I also participated in a service trip to Beaumont, Texas in March, 2017 and went on another to Colorado in March, 2018.
A group of education students, including myself, also took a trip to Camphill Village at Kimberton Hills with one of our professors (bottom right picture). Camphill Village is living community that includes adults with disabilities. All members of the village live and work on the land that makes up the community. I enjoy helping others and giving back to my community.
Extracurricular Involvement
Members of Moravian Activities Council (MAC) working an end-of-semester BINGO event.
During my time in college, I was a very active member of the Moravian College community. In addition to being a student, I worked as an America Reads tutor, served for a year as the America Reads Student Coordinator working out of the Center for Career and Civic Engagement, and worked as a Student Staff Assistant for the same office.
I was also a member of the Moravian Activities Council (MAC). I served as a representative of this organization for the Spring 2018 and Fall 2018 semesters. MAC provides activities and programming for Moravian College free to students in order to promote enjoyable and safe ways to spend time on campus. We put on events such as BINGO, paint nights, comedians, magicians, trivia nights, and much more. In addition to on-campus events, we also ran off-campus trips to shop at local stores, see shows on broadway, attend sporting events, visit museums, explore cities, at participate in other local activities.
I also served as an Orientation Leader for the class of 2022. All of the extracurricular groups I was involved in prior to student teaching helped to make my college experience more enjoyable and make me a more well-rounded individual.
Class of 2022 Orientation Team