In May of 2024, Elena Rodriguez graduated Cum Laude from Valparaiso University with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. During her senior year, Elena interned in a Kindergarten through 3rd grade Special Education classroom for a semester. This is where her passion for working with children with Autism developed. When her internship ended, the school hired Elena to continue working part-time until she graduated. 

Since graduating, Elena works full-time as a 5th and 6th grade teacher’s assistant in a Special Education school in Arlington Heights which serves children with severe developmental disabilities. The majority of the children in her classroom have Autism and are non-verbal. Elena works part-time at Autism Planet as an ABA therapist (but she will be joining full-time during the summer, and Jasmine hopes to persuade her to officially stay on full-time at the end of the summer). Elena loves working 1:1 with her students to help them achieve their fullest potential. She is hardworking, patient, and compassionate. Elena prides herself on being a welcoming and friendly presence so children feel safe.

Elena plans to attend graduate school to obtain her Masters in the near future. When not at work, she enjoys singing in the church choir, crafts, spending time with friends and family and community service. And she really loves her two cats, Kiki and Lovebug!

Jasmine’s Note About Elena: Elena is great at coming up with activities or strategies to try with the kids to help them learn or to engage meaningfully with them, she is truly always thinking about the kids, even as a part-time employee (although I’m working on getting her to join us full-time)! When you see Elena engage with the kids, you can plainly see that she absolutely loves working with children and is genuinely enjoying her time with them!