Humans of WISD: Meet Kenny

Meet Kenny Nao, Teaching Assistant at the Ann Arbor Young Adult Transition Center

"Students have lots of breakthroughs and victories at Washtenaw ISD, and that's what makes my job awesome and rewarding. Watching students grow and take pride in what they love makes me happy. Watching them learn more and more – not just about the world, but about themselves as well – is incredible.

My job is not just helping our students with their personal goals, but also helping them build up independence. I try to push them to be able to handle tasks on their own, whether it's job-related or home-related. I try centering activities around their personal goals to help them and their families get to where they need to before age 26 and they graduate. 

My students might learn about something like sanitizing equipment at a fitness center. Maybe they learn how to order a lunch or a drink at a cafe for themselves. For the most part, it's about empowering them with skills, and helping them stay on a task. I try to show them what they are doing right, and how they can do it even better next time. At the start of school, we explain things like hygiene, renting a place, and what kind of behaviors are appropriate when they're out and about. It's good to see these young adults learn to advocate for themselves and become passionate about things. This helps everyone in the community. 

I've seen students who are going outside of these classrooms and have paying jobs, and other students who are practicing going home on their own using public transportation. That's amazing, right? I actually ended up working at WISD because of my brother who graduated from here last year. I am very proud of him – everyone is so proud of him! The work site he was at decided to keep him on, so now he's working there every Friday. 

For me, this is probably one of the most fulfilling jobs I've had. This place makes me feel like I'm making a big difference. Just being around people who are willing to push themselves to support and help other other people to get where they want to be…I think is a very beautiful thing."

Inspired by (and with special permission from!) the original "Humans of New York," the "Humans of WISD" storytelling project is uncovering what drives our WISD team and why they're passionate about their work in the district and in our community.