MNMSD Student: Matthew

[Music]

Okay, my name is Matthew. I came to Mill Neck three years ago. That was 2019.

I started in seventh grade, and here I am now in ninth grade. I went to Hicksville public school

[Music]

I used to get bullied a lot. I didn't have, I had no friends, and the teachers talked really fast so I can't understand a lot, and I was the only deaf kid there. The school, like, we had an FM system. It didn't work very well, so it was like broken. And then what the teachers do with they did nothing, all they did was just put me in the middle of the classroom. That did not help, so I had a hard time. So that's why I came to Milneck.

When I came to Mill Neck, I was much better at learning. I had a better hearing of the teacher. They all helped me, and I'm doing really good with my work and everything. Not only did they support me by giving me a lot of friends.

I came here to school Mill Neck. It was so much fun, I loved it. One of the biggest things that we do in our high school program for our students here at Milneck is have our vocational program. All of our students in high school work with our vocational counselor to not only participate in internships and learn employment skills, but also to be able to work on their confidence and their self-esteem. Matthew really epitomizes this example of what Milneck does. Just in his first year of high school, his experience working in internships here on campus within the building have been amazing. He has built his self-confidence, feels that he has obtained skills already that he's able to use from one internship to the next, and we know here at Milneck that he's going to continue to be successful as he has more and more experiences, not only here in the building and on campus, but ultimately off-campus in the community.

I've seen firsthand, not only as a parent but as the school social worker, the magic that happens here at Milneck Manor School for the Deaf.

Mill Neck just changed my life completely. I love it here.

[Music]