College of Education Graduate's Impact Abroad Will Be Felt for Decades

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 9, 2016) — When Molly Baldridge was a senior studying special education at the University of Kentucky, she signed up for a class that takes a spring break trip to India to volunteer at a school for students with special needs. Upon coming home, she was soon standing in Amy Spriggs’ office at the UK College of Education, asking for help in finding a way to go back.

“It hadn’t even been a month since we had returned from my first trip to India, where UK had partnered alongside the rural school for kids with special needs,” Baldridge said. “But I had seen a glimpse of the school, the needs, the lack of education and acceptance for these kids and I knew I had to get back. My teacher knew it, too.”

Baldridge graduated in December with a degree in special education, specializing in moderate to severe disabilities, and the offer of a job that would have kept her in Lexington. Instead, she took a leap of faith and made the trip to India, where she is staying in a rural village in the southern part of the country called Mayasandra. It is part of the state of Karnataka and is about three hours west of its capital, Bangalore. The school where she volunteers was created to provide a free education for students with special needs, who often are not accepted in “regular” schools in India.

“My faith played a big part in me making the trip back,” Baldridge said. “I've been so blessed and loved back home, and I felt called and invited to share that with these families here in the village.”

The trip has caused Baldridge to face many fears, but it seems her biggest is the fear of not making an impact during her four-month stay. 

“I am burdened because the situations that these families and their kids with special needs face in and around the village is a hard thing to swallow,” she said. “While the community may be proud of the school, many of the people refuse to come close to the students it educates because they believe them to be ‘demented.’ The lack of support and education for these families and these kids is heartbreaking.”

Every day, Baldridge asks herself whether she has done something that will, in the long run, impact the school, community, teachers, students and families. If she can answer yes to that question, she calls it a successful day.

“While I'm here I get to work alongside the teachers to give examples of instructional or behavioral strategies unique to each child and their special needs so that we can make sure that every student receives the best education possible,” Baldridge said. “I get to work one-on-one with students, whether it's to teach English, colors, strengthening vision, working on fine motor, or so much more. I also am currently working alongside the owner and manager of the school to come up with a way to begin implementing data collection and monitoring of the students' progress that is appropriate for the teachers' levels of education as well as the school's available resources within the village.”

Baldridge has worked with teachers at Morton and Crawford middle schools in Fayette County to arrange for needed resources to be sent to the school. She said it has been amazing to see teachers back home rally together to support the school in India.

In March, Baldridge got a treat from home. UK College of Education faculty members Amy Spriggs and Katherine McCormick, from the Department of Early Childhood, Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, brought a group of UK students to the school to help with a camp. It was the same trip Baldridge had made with faculty the previous year.  Spriggs couldn’t believe the changes in the school since her visit last March.

She said, “It was great seeing the improvements made just since our trip last year. Molly has definitely made an impact on that school. I believe the school has made an even bigger impact on her. Molly has grown in her ability to teach, but she has also been able to take a step back and really ask herself what this community needs. Identifying individual needs is one of the biggest strengths a teacher of students with disabilities can have.”

Spriggs went on to say, “Molly has this fear that she is not going to make an impact. She has already made a huge impact. Just ask anyone in the village. Just ask the parents of the kids she is teaching. Just ask the teachers who are so willing to try anything she suggests.”

When Baldridge returns to Kentucky this month, she will be seeking a job in her field.

“Coming to India has definitely created space for me to dream, and to dream big,” she said. “So while I don't think I can tell you where I'll be five years from now, I think short term I would love to teach special education at a school that serves mainly inner city or low-income families. Having the opportunity to love and serve those within my own community at home sounds amazing to me and being able to do that through a job I know I am going to love sounds even better.”

For more information about leading or participating in an alternative service break program, contact Katherine McCormick (kmcco2@uky.edu).  For more information about participating in the course Baldridge joined, contact Amy Spriggs (amy.spriggs@uky.edu) about the course EDS 558.

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

MEDIA CONTACT: Gail Hairston, 859-257-3302, gail.hairston@uky.edu