The University of Albany Alumni Association has chosen Valerie Jensen (University of Albany, ’96) as their 2016 Excellence in Community Service Award recipient. The association has recognized her outstanding accomplishments and the wonderful work she has done for adults with disabilities.
After graduating from Albany, Valerie received her Masters in Education from Binghamton University. She discovered her passion for combining creativity and teaching while teaching Second Grade in Somers, NY. After the Jensen family moved to Ridgefield in 2002, Valerie began writing and directing musicals and films with SPHERE, and discovered her love for directing theater and working with people with disabilities. Her desire to help improve the quality of lives for people with disabilities through meaningful employment led to the founding of the Prospector Theater. (@TheProspectorCT). Since opening in November 2014, over 160 Prospects have benefitted from meaningful employment, and over one hundred fifty thousand people have purchased tickets and been introduced to Prospect's sparkle.
While struggling to read Shakespeare at the University of Albany, Valerie personally discovered that the use of adaptive technology is necessary in teaching and learning. By watching recordings of plays and following along with the text, Valerie was able to understand the plays. From drawing cartoons in the margins of the plays, Valerie created visual notations that she needed to follow the stories. In 2012 Valerie published a 'Romeo and Juliet' coloring book that was a storyboard for an award-winning short film screen adaptation of SPHERES's Romeo and Juliet. Thinking back to the struggles she encountered in her Shakespeare class, Valerie credits her time at Albany as having awakened her out-of the box thinking and creative approach to problem solving: essential in her roles in teaching and the business of the Prospector Theater.