Graduates of the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education celebrated their commencement Friday morning. They are among 3,900 students receiving their diplomas this weekend whether a bachelor's, master's, medical degree, or doctorate.
WXXI’s Education reporter Noelle Evans was there and caught up with some of them.
A transcript of the radio story follows.
JASMINE MACK: Hi! I'm Jasmine Mack
NOELLE EVANS: This is amazing.
MACK: Oh, thank you, it’s from my grandmother. It's like a plastic lei. So it has a bunch of flowers. Laced through is this blue and yellow ribbon.
MACK’S GRANDMOTHER: It's a Hawaiian custom. So in honor of her getting her master's in education, we just thought we would honor her in a small little gift.
MACK: So I just got my master's in education, I have a dual credential. So in childhood education and special education.
EVANS: Why special education?
MACK: I was kind of diagnosed with ADHD, when I was going to therapy in undergrad. When you're a girl, the symptoms are very different than a boy, and so when I was younger, they didn't really see me as having ADHD. And it made school a lot harder for me when I was younger. I had to really, really focus and that's hard. So.
EVANS: Yeah, and then also, I can imagine the frustration of ‘how can you miss this?’
MACK: Yes, exactly. Yeah, yeah. And so you know, I wanted to, moving forward, be able to go back and help other students get just a little bit of help that they need as well, to make it an even playing ground.
KRISTEN LOVE: Bye Jasmine!
MACK: Appreciate it, thank you.
EVANS: Enjoy! Take care.
LOVE: Oh, Kristen Love, assistant professor in the teaching curriculum department for early childhood and childhood education. It's so wonderful to celebrate and see the smiles and see people feel accomplished with all the hard work that they had done.
EVANS: I know you're saying like, you're really preparing them, you've got these opportunities. I mean, have there been conversations around like some of the sort of obstacles and like, really pushback that some educators are dealing with right now?
LOVE: It is tough out there. It's a tough, tough career. It's, but it's also a wonderful career. You know, when you see a kid love a book, and they just jump right in it. I mean, it's huge. It brings a smile to your face, and it brings a smile to their face, and it likely brought a smile to their parent’s face. So, it's a big deal.
SUSANNA DOLAN: Hi! I'm Susanna Dolan. I am a master's reading and literacy student, I come from a family of teachers. My mom was a -- is a high school English teacher.
EVANS: Congrat-
DOLAN: This is my mom and dad.
EVANS: Hi nice to meet you!
DOLAN’S MOM: This is a really proud moment, something she's wanted to do since she was in second grade.
EVANS: You said since second grade?
DOLAN: Yes, I've always known I wanted to be a teacher.
EVANS: What got you into education?
MOM: I had some amazing teachers. And they all really spoke to seeing me as a person.
EVANS: I have a quick question about, for instance, some of this politically charged atmosphere around education. Just curious, your perspective on that, if that's affected you as a teacher,
MOM: I think our jobs as educators, and I've always felt this way, is that it's really important that we teach our students to find their own voices and their own beliefs, and to build on that. And no matter what we believe, it’s really secondary. We're teaching them that they need to think for themselves. So many times they want to be influenced by their parents, by their teachers, by the community around them. It's so important that they find their own sense of self. And that's our job. (to Dolan) What do you think?
DOLAN: I think that it's important for every student to know that you care about them, and to feel loved and safe and respected in the classroom. And hopefully, I can create an environment where everybody feels welcome.
EVANS: And who is this over here?
GRAM: I’m Gram.
DOLAN: This is Grammy! (laughs)
GRAM: I'm Gram, (laughs) and oh so proud, the way her life is unfolding. It's just so beautiful. And I just love your comment about the love because that's what it is. We need more love in this world.
EVANS: Fantastic. Well, congratulations again.
GRAM: Thank you so much.
DOLAN: Thank you.
