Heroes often unsung are students and those with families. When those two incredible things collide, you get Nona Hero Lindsey Palm: local UCF graduate, mother, and wife extraordinaire.
Palm originally grew up in Kissimmee with her parents, Sheri and Ray, and her sister, Alicia. She stayed local throughout all of her childhood and now resides in Lake Nona with her husband, Corey, one-and-a-half-year old son, Brayden, and pitbull mix, Costa.
Palm earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at UCF and will work as a teacher at Sylvan Lake Nona, a school that will be opening later this year. Her passion for children is evident in these two facts alone, but Palm’s third grade teacher is the reason she studied education. The people we put in front of our kids have a lasting effect on them, and a strong effect by a teacher in her youth influenced the decision determining the course of her life. Good people, like Palm, will also help our children grow up with a strengthened moral compass and ambition.
Palm has babysat for seven different families and tutored students with special needs. In addition to being an Osceola County substitute teacher, she took care of kids with severe illnesses at Camp Boggy Creek and was an intern at Nemours Children’s Hospital, where she taught ill children how to read. In search of the opportunity to teach smaller groups of children and to enrich their lives more directly, Palm applied to Sylvan. She is excited to guide, teach, and protect our youth.
Although COVID-19 cancelled Palm’s official graduation ceremony and shortened the onsite experience during her internship, she can’t wait to continue persevering. She intends to further her education through earning a master’s degree in the future.
“It’s an accomplishment that I have always dreamt of, and regardless of how long it will take, balancing work and being a mom, I know I will get it done,” she said, sporting her tenacity proudly.
Palm’s love for children and for teaching shines through her toddler, Brayden. Her success has not been without sacrifice; these experiences challenged her as a new mom, and her hard work took away from time with her child. Until Sylvan opens this May, she will be home with her husband and son, basking in her recent accomplishment of getting through undergrad and enjoying her family with undivided attention.
Palm’s relentless pursuit of her passions and goals makes her a selfless mother and wife and a hero to the children she helps. She hopes to move up in the Sylvan hierarchy and will continue taking good care of her own child as well as the children of Lake Nona.
Photos Courtesy of Lindsey Palm
