While I am well aware that it is a cheesy cliche to talk about new beginnings in an introduction post, I am going to do it anyway. New beginnings are not only inevitable as a student and as an educator, but something I, personally, have come face-to-face with more recently than I ever have. I began my senior year of college with the start of a mini-new beginning, I’ll call it. I entered my first corporate setting, my first non-profit, and my first time driving to Providence in a car that has been struggling on highways since its debut in 2008. Much like my deathtrap car, I learned how to ease on the brakes quickly when it came to jumping into my internship at RIPBS Education Services. To be completely frank, television and movies “prepared” my psyche to expect several coffee runs and precious deadlines that would put my position on the line. That was far from the reality of this department. Instead, there was a sense of community, collaboration, and (shocker) taking the time to learn what you are doing.
The department functions similarly to a student-led classroom. Every person in the department has the opportunity to collaborate and grow from their successes and failures. Education Services demonstrated this when they gave me the freedom to explore their content, lesson plans, and the connections they have to organizations that prioritize the prosperity of Rhode Island residents. As a Rhode Island transplant, I was refreshed by the integration of programs that prioritizes residents who have fewer opportunities. Collaboration and resources run as deep as the community, not simply within the office. I had the gift of learning at a pace that encouraged trial, error, and growth when it came to taking over their social media accounts (and launching this blog).
Similar to the birth of our blog, I have had to nurture my priorities as an intern and a future resident of “the real world.” If you have recently graduated or begun a new life chapter, you can assume that you will hear the question, “So what now?” This question typically results in your heart dropping to your stomach because you’ve been “too busy” to ask yourself the same. There is trepidation when you enter the unknown of a new job, new environment, or a path you haven’t quite planned. But I argue the best way to calm these anxieties comes from the wisdom you already have - they are just hard to find.
New beginnings are bittersweet as you do not know what the future holds but you have been gifted the skills of experience that lead you to this point. I have always had a strong love of school and learning. I did not understand that the experiences with my teachers would follow me into adulthood. From the influential to the slightly devastating, the words and actions of educators make the bumpy road to something new a little padded. I still keep in contact with my 2nd-grade teacher, Ms. Kempa, who reminded me of when I would march to her desk to show her that my mom let me wear her lipstick to school, lips pouting, of course. Or recently, an experience with one of my favorite professors during a particularly-difficult semester. I submitted a piece that I wrote for her, admittedly, it was rushed and sloppy, but I was confident I would still get high marks. Before any red marks that signaled run-on sentences or comma splicing (my kryptonite), she etched into the very top of the document, “I know this is not you. I know you are capable of much better. Is everything OK?” In addition to their numerous other students and heaps of ungraded papers, both educators found the time to impart these lessons to me. I learned from Ms. Kempa how to add and subtract 3-digit numbers and how I should be stepping into every room – with the confidence of an 8-year-old girl with burgundy lipstick on. As for my college professor, who had confidence in my work and the mindset to expect more of me, she awarded me with the expectations I ought to have for the things I brand with my name and release into the world. I value these instances now more than ever as I venture into the big, scary, exciting next step that is in store for me and many other graduates.
As I begin my new chapter as a graduate, I have big hopes for my future and the launch of this blog. I feel like a parent sending off my baby to school in a station wagon with squeaky brakes. I know that there are several lessons to be learned along the way, but it will come with interaction and collaboration with others. Join us in the start of a new beginning, teach us something new, or be our pitstop along the way.
Cheers!
