- April 2019
Child Care Assistant
College of Agriculture &
Life Sciences
MSU Child Development and
Family Studies Center
Years in position: 1
Years at MSU: 1
Azaria Dandridge plays an important role in children’s lives at the MSU Child Development and Family Studies Center on MSU’s Starkville campus.
She interacts with children, teaches developmentally challenging and interesting activities, observes, supervises, and helps children build their self-esteem.
“I love that when I walk in the front doors in the morning that I get to see people who are so caring and cheerful while they are here with the children,” she said. “My favorite part of my job is how I get to decorate the bulletin boards in whatever way I want; it is a great experience to watch the children get excited about what we have planned for them every day.”
Azaria said that each of the staff members must approach the day with a patient and understanding mindset.
Everyone Azaria works with always seems to have a smile on their face, she said. Along with being positive, a good work ethic goes a long way with her career.
One of the most important traits in her job is the ability to have appropriate communication skills, the ability to develop relationships, and to have a passion for teaching children.
“My main goal every day is to try to make a difference in each child’s life and help each of them reach their potential and to believe in themselves as they get older,” Azaria said.
Azaria is from Tupelo and is the oldest of three children. She graduated from Itawamba Community College in 2015 with an associate’s degree in child development. She graduated from MSU in May 2018 with her bachelor’s degree in human sciences with a concentration in child development. In her free time, she enjoys shopping and spending time with her family.
