Christina Mehrtens, University of Virginia 

Christina Mehrtens is a first–year doctoral student at the University of Virginia studying Kinesiology for Individuals with disabilities. She completed her undergraduate degree at West Virginia University, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Physical Education with a minor in disability studies. After graduating in 2014, she took a position teaching physical education at River Road Middle School in Elizabeth City, NC. It was here that she discovered her passion for special education. It was this new passion that led her to the University of Virginia to get a master’s in kinesiology for individuals with disabilities.   

During her master’s program, she began implementing a new adapted physical education department for individuals with disabilities in Louisa, VA. She decided to take on this task full-time after her graduation in 2017. As the only teacher dedicated to providing adapted physical education services, she traveled to four elementary, one middle, and one high school. In total, she instructed 70 students in Louisa County Public Schools. This experience, along with her time in Elizabeth City, showed her first-hand the difficulties facing teachers working in rural environments. She hopes to use this insight to focus on developing new electronic resources and training modules for general physical educators, adapted physical educators, and teacher assistants working in PE classes. 

Education:

M.Ed., Kinesiology for Individuals with Disabilities, University of Virginia (2017) 

B.S.., Physical Education Teacher Education, Minor, Disability Studies West Virginia University (2014)