As my interest in helping children and families grew, I decided to pursue a career in Early Childhood Education building upon my undergraduate degree in Psychology. Initially, I joined the team at my son's preschool in the infant-toddler class while taking night classes at a local community college to earn the credits needed for a Child Development Permit. I found myself being drawn to children who exhibited challenging behaviors and had developmental delays or disabilities while working with families of children from nine months to 36 months old. A unique opportunity came along to join a cohort of students at San Diego State University to study what was then known as Early Childhood Socio-Emotional Behavior Regulation Integration and is now more commonly known as Infant Mental Health. My passion for helping children with behavior issues became more focused as well as to make a positive impact on children who experienced trauma or had developmental disabilities. Following this opportunity, I earned my Masters of Science in Child and Family Development from San Diego State University.