Wendy Morgan

My path to teaching in this program has not been a direct one, but the most fulfilling experiences often come to us in unexpected ways.

My professional focus has been as an educator. I have taught and designed curriculum here at Fleming since 2006, and I hold an interdisciplinary MA from Athabasca University where my specializations were adult education and disability studies. A recent focus for me in my role here at the college has been on the development of simulation-based learning opportunities for our students, because we know that students do best when they are exposed to meaningful and relevant learning experiences that challenge and engage them while making real-world connections.

My personal focus has been as a mother, where with my partner, we support our two teenagers in becoming the best possible humans they can. Our eldest is a proud autistic advocate, and surprisingly, it is our journey as parents supporting their neurodivergence that ultimately led me to the CYC program here at Fleming. In 2018, working with the CYC team and others, we brought the “Autism Reality Experience” to campus. This was a travelling immersive simulation that exposed participants to what it can feel like to endure a sensory overload—a reality that is common for many autistic individuals. The power of that experience resonated with me, as both an educator and a parent, and it brought my two worlds together in a profound way. I started to pursue more learning for myself and to work more closely with the CYC program to bring more simulation-based learning to the classroom. Before long, there was an opportunity to teach the CYC students directly.

I believe strongly that our relationships with others lead us to all kinds of unexpected and exciting directions, and it was relationships in both my personal and professional worlds that led me here. I am thrilled to be a part of the amazing CYC team at Fleming and I am humbled by the commitment of our faculty and students.