Interview with Ciara O'Neal by Michelle Carter Smith
Ciara O'Neal is a General Education Assistant at Corbett Middle School and her work day consists of:
- Supervising students in the commons before school
- Supervising students on their lunch and break afterward
- Academic intervention in the areas of math, reading, and writing
- Facilitating a small group for math.
Born in Clackamas, Oregon, Ciara has spent her entire life in the Northwest. She has a brother named Carlo and has three half-siblings and three step-siblings. For the first six years of her life, Ciara lived in Gresham with her family and then moved to Vancouver, Wash. where she eventually graduated from high school. Describing herself as being very social and outgoing as a child, Ciara also played volleyball from 7th to 12th grade at school and did track all through middle school. Ciara has always loved dance and was involved in an out-of-school dance group throughout her childhood. After graduating high school, Ciara attended Mt. Hood Community College to get her associate's degree and then transferred to Eastern Oregon Univ. to earn her bachelor's degree. She majored in liberal arts and minored in psychology and health studies. The hope was to one day become a PE teacher. During Ciara's time in community college, she met her husband Jack. They dated for two years and then married in January 2009. Their daughter Madeline was born in 2009 and her sister Savannah was born in 2012. Their brother Jack was born in 2016. All three kids are currently attending the Corbett schools. When Ciara graduated college with her four-year degree, her second daughter, Savannah was just two months old! (At this time, her husband Jack was also attending college and working at UPS in the evenings.) After graduation, Ciara began working at a local preschool during the day and was coaching recreational gymnastics in the evening. Her husband Jack was deployed twice, both in 2008-2009 and also in 2012-2013. The deployments put his graduation from college on hold until 2015. Jack graduated from Portland State University with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He got a job with Intel and he and Ciara decided to purchase their first home and expand their family! They moved to Troutdale and Ciara began working full-time at Rigert Elite Gymnastics. After working there since 2014, it came to an end in March 2020 when Covid hit. Ciara became a certified personal trainer and began homeschooling her kids as well as some of the neighbor kids. In June 2021, she began also working at a local preschool doing summer camps. It was during this time that a friend mentioned to her that CAPS in Corbett was hiring. Ciara applied and interviewed, only to be surprisingly hired at the Corbett Middle School! A new post-Covid position was created and Ciara stepped in as the new General Education Assistant in August 2021. She is enjoying her work and says she loves that each day is very different from the next. She appreciates the relationships she has with both the staff and the students. In January 2024, the middle schoolers will move to their new campus on Woodard Road. Ciara is looking forward to the new chapter for everyone, giving the middle schoolers a place to call their own. Both of Ciara's daughters play both club and school volleyball. Jack does karate and is going into his fourth year of the sport. As a family, they enjoy playing board games and going on family vacations. This summer they will be returning to Hawaii for a summer trip. The family has an eight-year-old "mutt" named Carter who they have had since he was five months old. Their cat, Mr. Muggles is 16 years old and has been with them since Ciara and Jack began dating. The family is looking to one day move into the Corbett community that they all love so much.