Jennifer is a 31-year-old woman from New Jersey who is married with fraternal twins, a boy and a girl who are both 5 years old and have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She identifies as a democratic and Pentecostal Christian. She shares that her religion guides her daily decision making and that attending Catholic schools prepared her well for her education. Having premature twins diagnosed with ASD changed her life completely, though she loves them equally.

1. Greetings
from Jersey
Jennifer Nicole Sumner
EDU692: Creativity Culture and
Global Contexts in Education
Decision Making
Dr. Robert Voelkel
October 28, 2014

2. Part I: Demographic
Factors Defining
your Identity
Hello All,
I am Jennifer and am 31 years old and am
from New Jersey. I am married to
wonderful husband for six years. We have a
set of fraternal girl/boy twins that are five
years old and they both have ASD. I am a
democratic and I am also Pentecostal. I
went to Catholic schools and I loved it!

3. My religion is important to me and guides
me to make the decisions that I need to on
a daily basis. Going to Catholic schools
gave me the college prep that I needed to
excel in school.
Having twins that were born eight weeks
premature and that were diagnosed with
ASD has changed my life completely. They
are on different levels on the spectrum. I
love them both the same and would not
change anything for the world.

4. Part II: Personal Story
• I was raised in the inner city of
Newark/Irvington until I was about
fourteen years old. Then we moved to
the suburbs and I stayed in the
suburban area since then.
• I went to private school from pre-k up
until high school. I went to a community
college for about two years and then
went Berkeley College. I left there and
started at Ashford where I graduated
with a BA in Social Science with a
concentration in Education. So I
decided to continue my undergraduate
work at AU.
• I like making crafts for my children and
I have a love for cooking.
• My name does not have any special
meaning. It was the most popular name
at the time of my birth.
• My family loves holidays especially
Thanksgiving and Christmas. We
normally gather at my parents’ house
but we will be gathering at my house
this year.
• “Train up a child in the way that they
should go: and when they are old, they
will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6