Amanda Trimillos is an Air Force wife, mother, and national board certified teacher. She wrote “School Choices and Changes” in Stories Around the Table: Laughter, Wisdom, and Strength in Military Life.
About her essay, she says, “As a military wife and teacher, I thought I was supporting my military-connected students. But after having my own children and seeing their first-hand frustrations with moving every two years, I realized that my own actions in the classroom were not as supportive as I had intended. I hope the stories and strategies I share will improve the way teachers and schools support their military-connected students. I also hope that this unique view of mother, parent, and teacher will give other military-connected parents insight into the real challenges our kids face and ways we can advocate for them in everyday situations.”
Amanda is an NBCT program ambassador and course leader at National University. She hosts professional development webinars for military-connected families and educators to discuss the challenges students face during military deployments and relocations. She advocates for military-connected students and educators through the White House’s Joining Forces: Operation Educate the Educator initiative. And she speaks nationally about strategies to support military-connected students and how to keep military spouses in the teaching profession.
In eighteen years of military life, Amanda has experienced seven moves and five deployments. She says, “I had no connection to the military before I met my husband. When we married, I decided to make our marriage an adventure: I stormed castles in England with a wooden shield and sword, volunteered in the White House, ate rattle snake in Oklahoma, witnessed the landing of Space Shuttle Discovery in the desert of California, and swam with sharks in Hawaii. Now, my most awe-inspiring adventure is watching my own children learn patriotism and explore the world opened to them because before they were born, my husband joined the military.”
Amanda currently lives with her husband and four children in Fairfax, Virginia.
