Madison Falkenburry graduated from SIU just a couple of weeks before this conversation. She had barely had time to catch her breath before learning she would be joining Du Quoin Unit School District as a special education teacher.

"I didn't think coming out of school I'd get a job so quick," she said. "But I'm so glad. They were so welcoming, and everyone's been so nice already — and I've only been to the school twice now. I cannot wait to start."

The path that led her here began in Murphysboro, where she grew up and graduated before heading to John A. Logan College and then SIU. But the specific direction — special education rather than general elementary — took shape even earlier, when she was still a high school student.

As a student helper in Murphysboro's special education classroom, Madison assisted with recycling projects, helped coach the students' cheerleading team, and supported them in building life skills. The experience landed differently than she expected.

"I just fell in love with it," she said. "I always knew I wanted to do teaching, but after being in that room, I knew that I wanted to do special education. The kids there were just super sweet. I really had a great time."

Teaching had always felt like the natural path — her mother has been a high school math teacher at Anna-Jonesboro for more than 20 years, and as the oldest of three, Madison had been practicing since childhood.

"I always liked to boss my brothers around and teach them school at home," she said.

Those brothers, for what it's worth, are not entirely thrilled about her latest career move. Both played football at Murphysboro — home of the Red Devils — and Madison, transitioning to a Du Quoin Indian is, she acknowledged, "a little touchy subject at my house." She expects she'll survive the family ribbing. "It's still close to home, and it's got that small-town feel that Murphy still has, so I'm very excited."

At SIU, she took on extra coursework to earn an endorsement in early childhood special education, allowing her to work with students from pre-K through twelfth grade. The range matters to her. Different stages of development bring different needs, and she wanted to be equipped across all of them.

Her student teaching confirmed what she already sensed: the work is about relationships as much as it is about instruction.

"When I look back, I think about how close I was with the kids," she said. "Our relationship and their personalities and how that influenced the classroom and everyone else around them."

She believes people who haven't spent time in special education classrooms would be surprised by the eagerness and openness they'd find there.

"They would rather learn about what you did that weekend than the actual math lesson," she said. "But you always gotta wheel them back in somehow."

Du Quoin made its first impression during her interview. She noticed something specific: the teachers in the building were talking about their colleagues with genuine enthusiasm.

"During my interview, the teacher was just talking about all the other teachers and how great they were," she said. "Everyone is super close. They seem very well-rounded and just like a strong community."

For a first-year teacher walking into a new building, that kind of culture is not something to take for granted.

She comes in with realistic self-awareness and a clear sense of purpose. She keeps her advice to her younger self — the eighth-grade version of Madison, who was probably overthinking things — straightforward.

"Take life easy. Nothing's really that serious, as I made it seem back then. Everything's going to work out and be alright. Just keep following your dreams."

This fall, Du Quoin students in her classroom will have an educator who already understands something fundamental: that learning begins with being known. She's been practicing that belief since high school, two brothers, and a lot of imaginary school lessons at home.