May 7, 1998
Contact: Ida Lee Wootten
	(804) 924-6857

COUPLE TO SHARE LIFETIME COMMITMENT TO TEACHING
	Peter Miller likes helping people on a one-to-one basis.  That's
why he became a lawyer.  
	But through his experiences with Literacy Volunteers of America,
he discovered the satisfaction of helping individuals develop and gain
independence.  So although he had already earned two degrees, he
returned to school to earn yet another.  On May 17 at the University of
Virginia he will receive a master's in teaching, with a specialization
in learning disabilities and mental retardation.
	Miller hopes to find a job working with people who have physical
and mental disabilities before marrying his fiancˇe, Jennifer Lynn
Sensabaugh, who is earning a master's in education in reading from U.Va.
in May.  
	As future educators, they share a common way of working with
students: "We want to embrace a child's way at looking at the world in
order to understand how best to reach him or her," said Sensabaugh, who
will be a reading specialist in Greene County schools in the fall.
	Miller's first exposure to teaching came while he was a law
student.  He taught English as a second language to a Chinese man
through an adult skills program.  After earning an undergraduate degree
in business administration, with concentrations in accounting and
finance, and a law degree from the College of William and Mary, he
secured a position with Robert Musselman & Associates in
Charlottesville.  
	After joining the firm, Miller became a volunteer with Literacy
Volunteers of America.  He gained so much satisfaction from the tutoring
experience, he decided to pursue teaching as a career.  
	"My approach to education is to help students develop as much
independence as possible, both in their school work and in taking
responsibility for their behavior.  The less they rely on me, the more
they will be able to think and act appropriately when they leave my
classroom," said Miller, who has been working as a residential
facilitator with the mental retardation division of Region Ten Community
Services Board while pursuing his degree from U.Va.'s Curry School of
Education.  He has been helping residents prepare meals, practice good
personal hygiene and engage in community activities.
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	After earning an associate degree at Piedmont Virginia Community
College, Sensabaugh transferred to the College of William and Mary.
After receiving a bachelor's in English and elementary education in
1994, she secured a position teaching kindergarten and first grade at
Greene County Primary School. 
	 Because her students approached reading from diverse
backgrounds, Sensabaugh felt she needed a broader range of teaching
strategies.  With the blessing of Greene County school administrators,
who have saved a reading position for her, Sensabaugh enrolled in
U.Va.'s Curry School of Education to gain a master's degree in reading.
	"I am fascinated with how I can make children learn to read more
and how I can help remediate their problems," said Sensabaugh, who has
tutored first-through-third graders in Charlottesville schools through
the Book Buddies program.
	She feels she has gained the strategies she needs to return to
Greene County, where she will work with kindergartners.  "I've learned
how to teach reading.  I feel like I have a large repertoire of
strategies and experiences now for working with children," said the
25-year-old daughter of Ron and Sandra Sensabaugh of Greene County.
	Miller, the son of Peter and Louise Miller of Millbrook, NY, and
Sensabaugh did not meet at William and Mary -- although they studied in
the same library week after week.  They met while attending church in
Charlottesville.
	Feeling strongly united through their faith and commitment to
teaching, Miller and Sensabaugh are looking forward to their late-July
wedding. "We both believe in service to children and adults with special
needs.  We feel like it is important to meet students' needs at their
levels," said Sensabaugh.
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	For more information, Sensabaugh can be reached at (804)
985-7797.  Miller can be contacted via pgm7f@virginia.edu.  Television
reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.  











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