Beyond what Ms. Muhammad has learned through her studies at Durham Tech, Ms. Muhammad learned at an early age how to be a great teacher by watching her mother, who was also a teacher. Her mother told her that “as a teacher, you love them, you teach them, you feed them, you hug them, and you care for them. You make them feel safe because you never know what a child comes from or what a child goes home to.”

Reflecting on her career in early childhood, Ms. Muhammad shared some of the many reasons she feels called to this field, saying “I enjoy seeing the outcome when a child who used to cry every day, or was scared to come, turn into a child who is independent and just happy. I enjoy seeing the children grow and change. I’ve worked with children whose teachers would give up on them, but I stood to the challenge, and to see that child grow and go off to school… confidence is built, behavior is getting better or able to manage - it is why I do what I do. To have families come to you and say ‘Thank you for being you, and caring and being a positive person in my child’s life,’ this is also why I do what I do.”

Ms. Muhammad knows from experience the impact that early childhood teachers have on the children, families, and whole communities that they serve. She summed it up beautifully by saying, “We are that light to a child on a dark day.” She reminded us all that “Child care is not an easy job, as teachers know.” She encourages current and future apprentices to not give up, even on days that are not “a bed of roses,” because “believe me, children need consistency in their life, and you just never know how much you mean to them and their families. Always keep an open mind, we live in a world now where children are faced with so many things. Guide them, listen to them, hug them, just be there for them.” 

Reflecting on her experience in the apprenticeship program, Ms. Muhammad said “The apprenticeship program has been a great support to me, and if it wasn’t for them fighting for me, making things happen, I probably wouldn’t be graduating [this] year. So I would like to say thank you to the program… for helping us be the best educators we can be.”

As Ms. Muhammad readies herself for graduation, beyond thinking about how to get enough tickets to the ceremony for all of her children and grandchildren, she is also thinking about what’s next. She is exploring Bachelor’s Degree options and looking ahead to how she can continue to grow in this profession that is clearly so much more than a job – work that she is called to do, uniquely gifted for, and for which she has been continuously training for throughout her whole life. We are delighted to celebrate Ms. Muhammad as the first graduate of this new apprenticeship program, and rejoice knowing that Durham’s youngest children will continue to benefit from her gifts!