MINNETONKA, Minn. — Dr. Wyayn Rasmussen lights up when you ask her about her job.
"My job is pretty exciting," she says.
Rasmussen is the Executive Director at the Academy of Whole Learning, which is a nonprofit organization that works with kids on the autism spectrum or with individual learning needs. They have a flagship school in Minnetonka, which has a licensed teacher and a registered behavior therapist in each classroom.
"Our mission is to provide a personalized learning path for students, integrating academics, social skills and life skills," Rasmussen says.
Rasmussen started with the organization seven years ago and stepped into the Executive Director role last spring.
"My job has been to grow the organization, but grow it well," she says.
Rasmussen says the school had 15 students when she started seven years ago and now has 75 students.
The goal is to give students a safe space to connect and truly flourish.
"We really try to teach our students to get to know themselves and to accept themselves," says Rasmussen. "Here they get to be who they are and we spend a lot of time getting to know them and helping them realize, 'Hey, you’re cool just the way you are.'"