By Mira Radovich, Senior Contributing Writer
As an educator with 17 years of experience, Samantha Donofrio is a proud member of the “teach, love, inspire” club. She has tote bags, coffee mugs and t-shirts featuring the slogan. But as cliché as it may sound, Donofrio truly believes each word is essential to her being.
“To teach is a craft and it must be carefully cultivated,” Donofrio said. “To love is innate and in all of us. Love must be part of your teaching or it will not land. But to inspire is something truly divine, something other worldly.”
Donofrio always knew she was destined to become an educator.
“We become teachers for a variety of reasons, but I believe it is a calling,” Donofrio said. “It is truly a higher purpose to devote oneself to a life of service never knowing if what you are doing will make the difference you want to make.”
A native of Long Island, N.Y., Donofrio began her path to becoming a teacher by earning a bachelor’s degree from State University of New York (SUNY) Potsdam, and a master’s degree in literacy and general education from Sage Graduate School.
Donofrio taught in upstate New York for seven years before relocating to Arizona in 2016 to further her career. She taught at two schools, and in 2022 she joined West Phoenix High School, an alternative charter run by the Leona Group, where a new teaching opportunity presented itself.
“My school offered me the opportunity to become a special education teacher to help fulfill a need on our campus,” Donofrio said. “I said yes because of the chance to make a difference in students’ lives.”
To earn her Special Education, Grades K-12 Mild-Moderate Disabilities Alternative Teaching Certification, Donofrio enrolled in Rio Salado College’s Post Baccalaureate Teacher in Residence program.
Students in the program must have a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited institution and have an offer of employment within the grade level/content of the desired certification program.
“I chose Rio Salado because it was the obvious choice,” Donofrio said. “Rio made the program attainable while I was teaching full time. Through meticulous planning, time management and organization, I was able to fit the program into my very busy school schedule.”
Donofrio’s favorite part of the program was, not surprisingly, the student teaching.
“The student teaching seminars reaffirmed my motivation to continue teaching,” Donofrio said. “During the pandemic, I felt discouraged because I could not teach traditionally. Rio Salado gave me the chance to see that I can have an impact and make a difference every day.”
Donofrio completed her certificate this spring, and attended Rio’s commencement ceremony in early May, as well as Rio’s first education convocation to be held in more than a decade. She is looking forward to applying all that she learned in the program to benefit her school, students, and herself.
“I am proud of the degree I have earned from Rio,” Donofrio said. “Teaching special education full-time while completing the program has made me a better, stronger and more intuitive educator. I’d recommend Rio Salado to everyone because higher education is the most powerful tool you can give yourself.”
Of course Donofrio hasn’t forgotten the importance of her other powerful tool – her favorite saying. With her innate love of teaching, only one word remained to be realized.
“My time with Rio Salado solidified for me the ‘inspire’ piece,” Donofrio said. “In my few short years of teaching special education, I have had many students return after graduation and tell me, ‘You’re the reason I’m going to school,’ or ‘Without you I would never have graduated.’
“That's the why. That's the inspire. That's the craft.”