SSAI In The News

Throughout our Women’s History Month celebration, we have highlighted several women within SSAI in the field of STEM, but we wanted to take the time to also recognize one of the other women within our company with different backgrounds that contribute to maintaining our everyday operations! Today we are highlighting the Director of The Bahethi Family Foundation, Caitlyn Dreux. 

Caitlyn was born and raised in McLean, Virginia. She attended Miami University where she received a bachelor’s degree in education. She began her career as a teacher at Guilford Elementary School in Sterling, Virginia. You can see Caitlyn back in her element teaching as a SSAI employee at Guilford this past January, when she visited the school to teach a science lesson about the water cycle to a class of Kindergartners; this also happens to be her favorite project that she has completed since joining our team in late 2022! 

You might be wondering how someone with an education background ended up at a company that specializes in STEM careers. Caitlyn explains that her decision to major in education was not one she was necessarily expecting. 

“A pivotal moment that helped inspire my decision to pursue a career in education was when I was applying to college. I found myself in a dilemma over which major to pursue. It was then that my parents suggested that I consider education. Curious as to why they would suggest this, they shared an experience they had with one of my elementary school teachers. I learned that my teacher had expressed some academic concerns to my parents because, at the time, I was below grade level. As it turned out, I was dyslexic, which explained my struggles with reading and writing during my elementary school years. Fortunately, my parents advocated for me and provided the academic support I needed to succeed. This support enabled me to graduate from Miami University with Latin Honors. My parents' suggestion to pursue a career in education was rooted in their belief that I could use my own experiences to advocate for and support students who may need additional academic support,” Dreux explained.

Caitlyn used what many people label as a “disability,” to turn her experience into something that could help others by choosing a career where she could dedicate herself to students at Title 1 schools who may not have had the same opportunities as her. “I am now dedicated to paying it forward and pouring my "why" into my work through educational outreach and philanthropic works with the Bahethi Family Foundation” Dreux expressed.

Caitlyn has shown to be a huge advocate for education, and she offers the advice to anyone deciding to pursue a career in education, outreach, or the non-profit sector to “always remember your “why.” Your “why” is the reason you chose this career path. When you have moments that are stressful or demanding, ground yourself in your “why" and the road ahead will continue forward,” Dreux said. 

Caitlyn has already made significant contributions to SSAI and Bahethi Foundation in her short time here, to include launching a website for the foundation which you can learn more about at https://bahethifoundation.org.

When she is not giving back to those around her, she is a recent newlywed enjoying married life, a proud dog mom to a Chihuahua, a Collie, and a Golden Retriever, and the youngest of four siblings! 

We appreciate the work Caitlyn contributes to our team and appreciate her diverse background as we look to bring together many different skillsets within our SSAI family.

Be sure to check our page tomorrow for our next Women’s History Month highlight and click here to read about our previous highlight, Amy Jo Scarino!