My name is Julie Marie Contreras and I am twenty-three years old. I was born in Orange County, California. My father was in the military and was stationed at a base there. My family moved to Yuma, Arizona about eleven years ago and that is where they still reside. My family consists of my parents and my two brothers. After I graduated from high school I began working at Behavioral Health Services here in Yuma. I enjoyed my work there and gain a lot of experience working with children. My position was Youth Facilitator and I worked in many different elementary schools around town. I facilitated groups with children who had emotional and behavioral problems. The students were referred to the program by their general education teacher. I helped with the creation of the curriculum for this program and others. I also worked with underprivileged children in afterschool programs. I spent three years all together at BHS and decided to leave with the notion that I would be a special education teacher. After deciding that I wanted to go back to school full time I left Yuma for Tucson to attend the University of Arizona. That was a great experience and I loved the school. After being away for a year I research education programs throughout the state and decided that going to NAU in Yuma would be the best financial decision for me. It was hard but I returned home and began NAU with a focus of being a special education teacher. I work full time at Gowan Company which is an Agricultural Chemical Company. I really enjoy my job and work with an excellent group of people. My hobbies include anything active such as bike riding, hiking, mountain climbing and running. I love to travel and I enjoy spending my weekends at music festivals.