Teacher Highlight: Peer Mentoring Program Inspired Kostegan to Become a Teacher

By Kate Anslinger

Lauren Kostegan’s desire to teach started in Winthrop High School, when she was part of a Peer Mentoring program during her junior and senior year.

It didn’t take long for her to develop a love of teaching, and she soon made the decision to focus on special education.

Kostegan attended UMASS Amherst and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication disorders, which she is currently using at Winthrop Middle School where she works as an ESP (Education Support Personnel). But she’s not stopping there and she’s taking it a step further by working toward her master’s degree in special education at Salem State University.

While Kostegan hasn’t strayed far from Winthrop, the spectrum of teaching continues to inspire her, making every day new and interesting. She works in the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) classroom, where half of her time is spent working one on one with the students.

“When we’ve been working on a task and all of a sudden you can see a light bulb go off it’s great just seeing the student look so proud at that moment,” said Kostegan, who admits that she is inspired by her students. That inspiration also comes from her mom, who taught for 37 years.