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Sherry Thomas on serving the state in her emotional role as director for exceptional children

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Sherry Thomas is in her 14th year with the Department of Public Instruction's EC Division. Courtesy DPI.

Sherry Thomas worked in Gaston County Schools as a classroom teacher, a diagnostician, and then as a program specialist in the central office. A friend encouraged her to apply to the Department of Public Instruction for a position as a state consultant for learning disabilities.

That was about 14 years ago. She did it — kind of as a lark, she said — and got the job after a two-hour interview. Doing the job, in the beginning, was a leap of faith, she said.

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