LORENA
 Lorena is in her third year as an Elementary Education and English major here at Bridgewater State University. She is originally from Quincy, Mass where she played softball and cheered throughout high school. As of now she commutes to Bridgewater to attend her classes which she enjoys. Lorena wants to work with students between the ages of six and nine because she truly enjoys working with kids. As of now, she is an ABA and works with children who have autism. She originally started this job as an internship and in the spring they offered her a job. Lorena shared that when she was in third grade she had a teacher that was very mean and liked to humiliate her students in front of the entire class. She said that she wants to become a teacher to help her students and that she is inspired to become better than teachers who treat their students in a bad way. Some interesting facts about her is that she has one tattoo, she can speak three languages, and she is afraid of the dark. One of her favorite books is the Great Gatsby and she also enjoys listening to music by Billie Eilish. She also shared that her biggest pet peeve was having to repeat herself or being told what to do while she's doing it. She wishes to travel every inch of the world if possible and would like to be remembered as someone who has impacted the lives of many, especially her students.

EMILY 
Since 2016 Emily McDermott has known that writing is her passion. Before her mother was a substitute teacher at Bridgewater Raynham  she was an editor. Having a pro edit her  writing from an early age no doubt brought out her talents as a budding writer. Before sophomore year Emily wanted to bring her talent into the real world as a journalist, but after seeing the current trends in media she began to question if journalism was the path for her. The 2016 election in particular pushed Emily away from journalism and toward Education.The election showed her that misinformation is an epidemic in America and decided that educating the people was a more noble career path. 
    Emily took the same English teacher in sophomore and junior year of highschool. The 2016 election was what pushed Emily away from journalism. This English teacher pulled Emily into education. When emily got a 5 out of 5 on her first essay for AP lang her teacher read it out loud in front of the class 
    Like many in our discipline Emily had a hard time in math. She was placed in advanced geometry by the guidance department against her wishes. Guidance let her struggle in the advanced math class for months before letting her switch down. 
    Outside of Education Emily is a proud dog parent, a dancer and an employee at Prisco’s  It takes a special type of level head to work for Mr Prisco. She could be scooping ice cream, running the counter at the minigolf course, or working in the deli.

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SAMANTHA
            Samantha is from Douglas Mass, and she is a junior here at BSU. She transferred from Assumption University as a Psych major and has now been here for two years as a Secondary Education and English major. She used to teach in Fall River in a program called Coaching for Change but currently works in an after-school program. Her favorite books are the Harry Potter series and funny enough one out of her five tattoos are Harry Potter themed. A few fun facts about Sam are that growing up she wanted to be a wizard and if she could do anything in the world, she would choose to become an actress. Samantha would like to be remembered as someone who is funny, kind, and helpful. A negative story about teaching and education that has stuck with Samantha was her junior year of college during the fall semester when her father passed away. Her professor forced her to attend a class or else she would have gotten a poor grade for not showing up even though the professor knew about what was going on in her personal life. However, Samantha did not let this moment bring her down. Looking at the silver lining, another professor she had was able to relate to her and make sure that she was doing alright. He even sent her a heartfelt email telling her his own story about when his father died while he was in school. Samantha found that being a good teacher meant being able to relate to their students not only in the classroom but in everyday life in order to make a stronger impact on them. That is the kind of teacher that Samantha strives and wants to be for her own students.

MAX
    Throughout his life, Max has moved back and forth between the United States and Ireland with his family. While many talk of the beauty of the Irish countryside, he would rather live here, where he has access to wifi and is not occasionally trapped in his house due to a swamp overflowing. While Max has had a continued love for mashed potatoes, his disdain for his home country and his inability to learn Gaelick help drive his passion for English. He enjoys learning about the perspectives of others which transcribes greatly into literature and writing. His favorite book is Night by Elie Wiesel because it is genuine compared to some of the other literature he has read and he found the lack of a clear message and happy ending refreshing. Max wants to become a high school English teacher because he likes that their writing will be more complex compared to younger levels. He also wants to become a teacher because of the set schedule and having summer off being great benefits. When Max is not in class, he works as an ice cream scooper on campus and in his downtime can be seen with friends or his dog, Oscar, scrolling through tik toks, or like most 21-year-old college students, at the liquor store. One of his hobbies is watching movies, including the Italian flick Life is Beautiful, a comedy that takes a dramatic turn. Max tries to learn from others and is constantly trying to broaden his perspectives through different facets of media and literature. ​

CHARLIE
    Charlie Malinowski is from East Bridgewater, Massachusetts and born to become a teacher. He comes from a long line of teachers that stems from so far in the past that his great great Grandmother actually went to Bridgewater back when it was just a teaching college. Due to this, he has been exposed to this field since he was a young boy. Charlie’s mother has had a great influence on his love for the career as well. He admires her ability to help kids who struggle with behavioral challenges learn to read. Many of his observation hours for BSU were spent at her collaborative/, so he talked highly about getting to go in there and be welcomed with such high praise. He also recalled a story from when he was in a sophomore English class and challenged his teacher to a chili cook-off. The teacher ended up backing out at the last minute, but Charlie still brought in his chili for the whole class to enjoy. Outside of school, Charlie works as a lifeguard at the YMCA and plays tennis for the school’s tennis team. He recalled playing tennis when he was younger, but taking a break for a while. During his freshman year of high school, he decided to get back into it and fell back in love with the sport. He is certified in many areas, including archery, which he had to learn so that he could lead an archery course during a summer camp at the YMCA. Overall, Charlie is very outgoing, kind, and eager to get into the teaching field.

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ABBY
Abigail (Abby) Murray is a 20-year-old student at Bridgewater State University. She was born and raised in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, however, after her parents’ divorce, she shared half of the week with her father in Dighton, Mass. She is the oldest of two younger brothers, Ben (17) and Levi (4). Throughout her childhood, Abby found her passion was singing, and always envisioned herself on a stage singing to a large crowd of people. She would fill her living room with music as she sang and played piano for her mom. It was always in her heart to be a famous singer one day, but as she grew that vision started to change. Her mother and father are both teachers, which inevitably inspired her to pursue it as well. So, she went to college with the idea of becoming a teacher and making the same connections with students as she had witnessed her parents make with theirs. Only, the more she has continued through her degree, the more she is becoming unsure whether this is her passion or not. She is young, and talented and would make a wonderful teacher, but that career path is beginning to look differently than what she had imagined. Although she has anxieties about her future and where she will end up, Abby is still focused on school and is using her time here to figure out who she really is and what she is meant to become.

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KRISTINA
Kristina Gionfriddo is a senior English secondary education student at BSU. Originally from Brockton, she currently lives in Bridgewater with her husband Tim, her son Jameson, better known as Jaime, and her shiba inu Lucas. At the age of 16, Kristina met Tim at their former job at McDonalds. They frequently worked together as she would go help out manage his restaurant from time to time, and it was at that job where she realized that she wanted to become a teacher. Since the majority of the employees she worked with were all teenagers, this allowed her to take on a mentor role, assisting and guiding everyone to work to the best of their abilities. She was also able to connect with ease with employees thanks to the wide racial perspective that she gained from going to Brockton High School. When it was time to break the news to her bosses that she would resign to pursue her dreams, their response was negative, but Kristina’s mind was set, to her becoming an educator was more important than the stigmatized opinions shared by people. Overall, she is a strong and ambitious woman who I have no doubt will become a great teacher and an inspiration to all her students. Some other little facts about Kristina is that she loves spending time with her family, and her favorite cuisine is italian.

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CATARINA
Catarina Morrissette is a 29-year-old student, wife, and mother attending Bridgewater State University. She is in her senior year, majoring in Elementary Education, and hoping to become an upper-grade elementary teacher. Prior to college, she served 10 years in the military. She was born in Portugal and moved to the United States with her family at the age of 5. She currently resides in New Bedford with her husband and two children, ages 6 and 9. Something Catarina enjoys is making crafts on her Cricut machine with her daughter. Something Catarina doesn’t enjoy is when her daughter won't listen. Some fun facts about Cat are her favorite color is light pink, she loves the smell of chocolate, and she is an animal lover and caretaker. Catarina has not always had the easiest time in school. In high school, she was faced with a variety of challenges, which led to frustration and a wanting for inspiration. Down the road, Catarina became a mother and found her new inspiration. She got to witness her son learning to read. At that moment, she knew she was meant to be a teacher. Making the choice to continue her education, Catarina became a student of Dr.Ingle, a professor who inspired her greatly. Dr.Ingle encouraged her to become a member of the honors and STARS programs, in which she still participates to this day. In the future, Catarina hopes to return to Portugal for a visit as well as have a classroom of her own.

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KIERA MARQUIS
To begin with the basics about 20-year-old Kiera Marquis, she was born in Weymouth, MA, and is currently from West Bridgewater. She commutes to class and works as a writing tutor on campus, which is her favorite. Some of her hobbies consist of the performing arts and theater. Aside from that, Kiera has a few favorites; for example, her favorite color is lavender and sage green, her favorite food is the giant soft pretzels, and she loves the smell of a campfire. Although, there are some not so favorites. Kiera does not like taking tests (although she is working on her MTELs!) and doesn’t like chewing noises. Digging deeper into Kiera's educational history, she lacked a connection with a teacher, but that didn’t stop her from building her confidence when a good teacher came into her life. Kiera was in a chemistry class when she was struggling to understand the problem being presented by the teacher. She waited until after class and asked the teacher if she could show her the chemistry problem again because she didn’t understand it. The chemistry teacher rudely told Kiera, “You’re either smart or not.” However, this didn’t discourage Kiera from having faith in teachers because, in her junior year of high school, she had an English teacher who pushed her to build her confidence and to keep writing, helping Kiera with her goal of becoming a High School English teacher.

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TRAVIS KAY
Travis Kay: the man, the myth, the legend. Of course, not all legends start off as one, and while we don’t have all the time in the world to hear about Travis and his exploits, this brief excerpt will give you a look into who he is. Travis was born on July 19th, 2002, in New Bedford but was raised in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He would go on through the Dartmouth public school system, but it wasn’t until high school that he found his calling in a fateful English class. Where he would go on to pursue a degree in English and Secondary Ed. at BSU. English isn’t the main prerogative of Travis though, he also fancies himself to be an enjoyer of history, along with beauties of architecture and art. It doesn’t stop there though, for he also enjoys traveling, and with travel comes adventure. And his bucket list thusly contains great ambitions of adventure. One story of Travis completing a bucket list task, comes from the time he and a friend went on an expedition to the snowy Appalachian Mountains, with one goal, to snowboard. These brave adventures were up to the task, but neither knew how to snowboard and they struggled greatly. So, after a while they decided to head up using the lift, feeling they’d had their fill. At the top they were met with the fate of being told they would have to go all the way back down via the trail. What should have been a 10-minute-long ride of adventure for the average snowboarder, turned into 40 minutes of hellish descent. But fun was had regardless of the struggle, for Travis is known to not give up so easily. ​

JACK LATAUSKAS
Jack Latauskas is a 20 year old junior majoring in Secondary Education and English, and hopes to one day become a middle school English teacher. Growing up, Jack always stayed active while participating in various sports such as track, wrestling, and soccer. Soccer is one of his favorite hobbies, to this day and continues to participate in an intramural league at BSU. Jack attended Whittier Tech high school where he was an outgoing student and friendly to his classmates. After graduating, he continued his education at Northern Essex Community College where he earned his associates degree in educational studies. Since transferring to Bridgewater State, he has developed his passion for teaching and education in general. Working various jobs throughout his adolescent years he always focused on helping others. This was influential in driving him to figure out what he wanted to do in life. Jack's mom is also a factor in his decision for pursuing education. Jack's mom transitioned jobs from being a nurse to a teacher and this inspired Jack down the path of education. He wants to be able to help kids through difficult times in their lives while helping them develop into young adults. High school was smooth for Jack and he was always involved in activities with a good balance of social life and school. Having had a good experience in school pushes Jack to want his students to strive for the same experiences. Jack is excited to see where his future in education will take him while growing as an English student himself.

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CASSIE    
Cassie Couto is a 30-year-old, full-time student pursuing her passion to become a teacher. She is a mother to two boys, Jamey, who is eight, and Tucker, who is seven. Although she faces challenges as a full-time student and a mother, she makes the best of it. She credits her husband as a major support in her life, as he helped her to pursue her passion of becoming a teacher. She also commends her mother, who is an English teacher at New Bedford High School, for supporting her journey to become a teacher. Cassie remembers helping her mom with grades and other assignments and she recognizes how much she enjoyed helping her. Experiences throughout her life have helped her to discover her passion for reading and writing. Even as a child she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. She has a sister that is seven years younger than her, and she remembers walking her through her ABC’s and phonemes on a chalkboard in her room. After this, she realized that she truly enjoyed and excelled at teaching. Cassie was unable to attend college right out of high school due to having children of her own at a relatively young age. She dropped out her freshman year, but she knew it was time to try again just before COVID caused major shutdowns. Cassie is a persevering, hardworking woman and even though it hasn’t been the easiest journey for her, she is extremely proud of it and is eager to connect with young minds.

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LIZZY SCULLY
Lizzy Scully was born in Norwell and she has maintained her connection to Norwell through her bond of teaching. Lizzy maintains her connection through her substitute teacher services in Norwell high, the school she had attended prior to college. Lizzy’s dream is to teach at a middle school where she can help to mentor and see the growth of her students as they evolve as writers and as adults. Her biggest hurdle in the educational world is her battle against dyslexia, but she powers through and has adapted her learning to adjust to it. Lizzy’s pride and joy in life is her Beta fish Romeo, she has spent hours teaching Romeo to do tricks for her such as following her finger and peaking out of the water for food. Lizzy remarks that Romeo was her pride and joy during that time. She remembers that covid was a very struggling moment for her, as nobody could socialize properly, so she joined a sorority to find a sense of community. Lizzy is a president of the greek honors society, she is very involved in the campus community. She loves to read, Lizzy several books a month, but this doesn't stop her from finding time to master her four favorite instruments. Lizzy is proficient in the piano guitar ukulele and flute, and she loves teal!

SARAH GREELEY
Sarah Greely grew up and lives in Sandwich, Ma, with her mother, father, younger sister, 6 month old orange cat, a black lab, and twin brother. She misses her twin brother a lot though because despite officially living with them he stays at school and doesn’t commute like her. In fact, it almost didn’t end up with her being in class with us at all. As a young child Sarah was diagnosed with cancer and spent a fourth of her life in and out of hospitals fighting it. She doesn’t remember much from that time, as she was so young, but does know it wasn't just her. At the same time she was diagnosed, so was her father. Not only did her family have to deal with their young child having cancer, but one of the parents as well. If it wasn’t for the generosity of their community in helping them get through such a difficult time, the lovely Sarah wouldn't be here with us today. 
Sarah's most prized possession is a car she redid from 1991, along with that car she also has a lot of matchbox cars in her possession, so if you couldn't tell, she likes cars. Her birthday is August 24th and she typically spends it having dinner with her family. Despite fall being her favorite season, Christmas is her favorite holiday. In her spare time in the winter you can often find her skiing. Sarah currently is employed at an animal hospital in her hometown with her favorite animal being a house cat. She’s a fan of “New Girl” and “Harry Potter,” with one of them being her favorite movie, though she's not quite sure which one. She is a sophomore in college and when she is done with school would like to teach either 5th or 6th grade, along with  both her parents who are teachers.

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EMMA CHAPMAN
Emma Chapman is a 20-year-old student at Bridgewater State University studying Secondary Education and English. Having grown up in Sandwich, Massachusetts, she graduated from Sandwich High in 2020, and following this she enrolled at Cape Cod Community College where she got her associates degree in the Fall of 2022. Emma currently lives at home surrounded by her loving family, where she is the youngest of seven, and she also is an auntie of four, with one more on the way! She enjoys time with family, working out at the gym, and spending time with her boyfriend of four years. Some fun facts about Emma are that her favorite food is carrot cake, she has one dog and one cat, and she has been to Paris. For her future endeavors, Emma intends to finish her bachelors degree, and eventually she would like to teach middle school English. She aspires to be a teacher because of her sister, and this is because when she was younger, her sister changed her major in the middle of school, which was a big change. Soon after, she saw how happy she was in her new major, and this pushed her to want to become a teacher.

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BRANDON GONZALEZ
Brandon Gonzalez is someone who you’d want to be not only your friend, but your teacher. Born in Brockton and raised in East Bridgewater, Brandon is a double-major of Secondary Education and English here at BSU.
Brandon can be described as someone who likes to “go with the flow.” Although he doesn’t have many “favorites,” he is an easy-going person who can find the good qualities of most things (unless it is coffee). Whether it is music, architecture, or other forms of art, Brandon can appreciate its beauty. When it comes to debates or controversial topics, Brandon is commonly a neutral observer who can see both sides to the argument and help two people come to an agreement. These are qualities that certainly translate into becoming a great teacher one day.
Being raised in a small town with little to do, Brandon found that his main source of entertainment is simply hanging out with his friends. He told a story of a time when he got together with his friends for a “Friendsgiving” celebration and game night. In addition to sharing plenty of Taco Bell and McDonald’s, Brandon and his friends sat around for hours sharing stories and simply enjoying each other’s company. He believes that it was a time he was experiencing true happiness. It shows the kind of person Brandon is: he values laughter and good times with the people he cares about.

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BRUCE 
Bruce Rodriguez is an English and Secondary Education Major here at Bridgewater State University. He is technically a senior as he has transfer credits from his studies in Puerto Rico. Bruce was born in Brockton, Massachusetts but by age four had moved to Puerto Rico with his family. He went to school and lived in the small town of Coamo with his three sisters, including his twin sister. Unfortunately in 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, devastating the island and forcing Bruce and his family to move back to Massachusetts. Bruce considered the hurricane a turning point in the trajectory of his life. He applied for a long term substitute position at a middle school in Brockton where he was shocked to find out he got the job! Although he plans to become an English teacher, Bruce began his journey as an educator teaching middle schoolers Spanish. This experience taught him the importance of patience and adaptability as he taught disinterested middle schoolers over zoom. Despite its challenges, Bruce found success and a passion for teaching even the most reluctant students and is excited to get back into a more permanent position in the classroom. When he is not doing school work, Bruce spends his time with his dog Luna and girlfriend Valentina enjoying vegetarian cuisine or browsing online for his next pair of sneakers. Overall, Bruce is a resilient, understanding and passionate person who is a role model and resource to his students, both past and future.

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