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It was June 2011, and I began my new position as a Special Education coach with experience in multilingual learner support. I had never heard of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and I remember my supervisor telling me that it would be my focus for the upcoming year. I panicked, as I always do when I have to learn something new and am responsible for supporting others with it.

As is typical in education, I was scheduled to attend a summer institute that introduced me to the fundamentals of UDL. It was overwhelming. I felt like a foreigner in a new land, trying to make sense of new information while simultaneously learning the language in which that information was presented. I remember thinking, “I should know this,” and hoping they couldn’t tell this was new to me. I had completely lost the point of professional development—to learn new information that I could then apply.

At some point, the facilitators read the room. They went around to make us all feel comfortable with our learning, acknowledging that we weren’t expected to know anything beforehand. Once I gave myself permission to just learn and engage, I started to understand what my role could be.

During the PD, I emailed the facilitators and asked them to come support my district, refusing to waste any time and ensuring my district was prepared for the expectations set by my new role and responsibilities.

My previous experience as a coach taught me how to coach; this experience taught me what to consider and implement to meet the needs and expectations of all students. This was the beginning of many firsts. UDL was the conduit that helped me grow as a coach and learn to support different teachers with different needs and expectations.

• Vanessa MacDonna, Owner and Chief Executive Officer @ VMNY Consulting Group LLC