Contact Information
Biography
My name is Ruth Ayodeji, and I am a master’s student in Early Childhood Leadership and Policy Program. I started my Early Childhood Education and Career over 20 years ago when my daughter started Head Start. As a first-generation immigrant from Nigeria and the first-generation student in my family, I never had a goal for my life except to be a mother. That changed when I found my passion for teaching while volunteering in my child’s preschool classroom. A journey that lead me to UW for my BA in Early Childhood and Family Studies (the online program).
My passion for supporting and inspiring immigrant families in how they engage in their children’s education, pursue their own dreams, and retain their cultural identity led me to UW College of Education as an Experiential Learning Coordinator. I want to inspire, challenge, and help develop quality, equitable educators who can support families and children from a strength-based perspective, not a deficit. At the same time, I learned about different policies that can make this journey easy for educators. I hope to lead Head Start or ECEAP programs or become a professor who teaches Early Childhood Educator Leaders in a higher institution.