Onward And Upward

By Mary Hackett


          STAC has done it again with the outstanding receptions they offer in the Romano Center.  Last Thursday, April 26, there was a reception for the student teachers who were getting ready for graduation in May.
          In the beginning of the reception they had the student teachers come up in front of the audience and recite a speech on their experiences of being introduced to what their future jobs will hold in store for them. One speaker really stuck out. Maggie Fee of Pearl River, New York was a transfer from Rockland Community College and commuted to STAC for her last two years of school. Maggie began her speech by introducing what her experience was like being an assistant teacher in a real classroom.
          Maggie gave a twist in her experience that she shared with the audience. She started explaining how many obstacles she had to overcome to make it as far as she did to pursue her dream career.
          “Most college kids I knew were out partying when they weren’t in school or in school while they weren’t out partying," she said, "I, however, had a different story. I went to all my classes and straight from school I would go to work, and when I wasn’t working I was at school.” Maggie further explained why she did not have one second to herself. She knew she needed to work as hard as she could to meet financial costs to continue going to school, to pursue the career in the passion she had with teaching children.
          Maggie continued, saying how thankful she was that she was lucky to graduate and be successful with her career.
          This event was quit the attention grabber in fulfilling dreams to become what you want in life. Refreshments and dinner followed after the speeches and the graduates were each given a little “teacher's gift.” All in all, this event was very successful and packed a lot of the Romano Center, with seats filled by families and supporters of the graduates. Now these students have great options opened to them to do what they like with their teaching experiences.

Mary Hackett is a freshman at St. Thomas Aquinas College majoring in Communication Arts.