A Decade of Light Honoree: Maya Birks ‘21
From Fellow to High School Special Education Inclusion Teacher, Maya empowers her students and serves as a supportive bridge to the outside world.
Maya is an alumni honoree at A Decade of Light, CFSI’s 10-year anniversary fundraiser on May 7, 2026. Support future student outcomes like Maya’s with your gift.
During the Spring 2021 cohort, Maya interned at Empower Schools, where she got an up-close look at education in the U.S. Empower Schools has launched empowerment school zones in multiple states and gave Maya the opportunity to engage with people from school districts across the country throughout her internship. Some of her favorite aspects of the work she was doing were analyzing various stakeholders' survey responses and learning about the strengths and weaknesses of education through a much wider lens.
While Maya was interning at Empower Schools, one of her mentors mentioned an organization called Teach Western Mass (TWM), which was primarily based out of Holyoke and Springfield, Massachusetts. Maya—a Holyoke native—applied and was accepted into the TWM program after completing CFSI, beginning her career teaching special education at her former high school, Holyoke High. While there, Maya also served with Americorps to help bridge the gap between her classroom and the real world for her students. After completing TWM, Maya transitioned to the Ware Public Schools, where she has been ever since! In her time at Ware, she has gone on to earn her Master's in Special Education from American International College (AIC). Maya returned to AIC and is now working towards her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Supervision.
What is one lesson you learned during your time at CFSI?
“You can be a tree shaker or a jelly maker; both are needed to make a change.” (Callback to Eric’s launch week speech!)
Who is your guiding light?
“My grandmother, Mary Birks. She was a well-educated, kind, and caring person. She was the special education director in the Ware Public Schools for many years. She passed while I was enrolled in SITC, but I knew she was proud of the work I was doing and the work I would later go on to do. Every day, I strive to continue making her proud and following in her footsteps.”