Smart Ride | Tara

Tara doesn’t sit back and hope for change—she makes it. “I really want to impact change in the special-needs education system,” she says. “And make things more readily available for special-needs individuals.”

She has a plan to accomplish her goals. She’s attending Western as a special-education major and intends to teach for around 10 years. She’s always wanted to be a teacher, so why stop at 10 years? That’s when she opens her business catering to special-needs individuals, where she looks forward to employing and working with her brother, who has special needs and is an inspiration to Tara.

These sound like lofty goals, but this is a person who planned and organized 20 blood drives in high school and is looking into getting involved in a number of WMU student organizations, including the Red Cross Club.

She has the passion and determination to make positive changes, and that’s what one might call grabbing the reins.