Loading up on Education: Valdrin Sadiku

Valdrin Sadiku, Class of 2009, Prospect, CT

What are you up to? I’m in my final year at The University of Hartford, studying Risk Management and Insurance. I also just started a full-time position at Travelers Insurance in Hartford, CT working in the claims department. I have also been very fortunate to work with a start up company Tauruseer, a Risk Management Platform, for this Spring semester.

How'd you get here? After my high school career was in the books, it was a rough road of working countless hours. I wasn't interested in going to college right after high school, so I moved to Florida in 2010 and worked for a home improvement company loading trucks at Raymond's Building Supply Company. The long physical hours put a big toll on my body, physically and mentally, and I knew that this was not where I wanted to be. I felt that the only solution to make something of myself was to pursue my education again.

After years of being away from school, I finally enrolled to Pasco-Hernando State College in Wesley Chapel, Florida in 2015. I found myself with a new generation of students where I thought I was never going to fit in, but man was I wrong. Joining the institution was a great eye opener for opportunity as well as understanding that age is just a number. In 2017 I received my AA (associates degree). This was just the beginning of a long road in education.

In 2018, I moved back home to Connecticut and had the goal of finishing my education in a well respected university. I chose The University of Hartford to study in the Barney School of Business. By working hard to meet deadlines and to be the best student possible, I achieved membership status in the National Honor Society, which is truly something I thought I would never accomplish.

Just remember that it doesn't matter what your background is or how old you are, the opportunity to grow starts with the will you have in yourself.

What are your goals? I am grateful to be employed and start a career with a well established company at Travelers. I feel this is just a starting point in my career where I can learn the principles of the insurance industry and keep moving forward. I plan to work hard and become an Underwriter or Risk Manager for a well respected firm. The ultimate goal is to own my own business or reach the level of a Vice President in the insurance field. Don't let fear get into the way as risk can be a valuable reward. The sky is the limit, if you want it bad enough.

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be? Crack the books harder. Be responsible for your positive outcomes, learn from the negative.

CANCELED: You're Invited: WHS Sophomore Career Fair

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Sophomore WHS Career Fair

On the morning of Wednesday, March 25th, WHS will be hosting a Career Fair for our sophomore students. WHS is looking for volunteers to come back to the high school and speak about their career paths to current students.

The event will be organized similar to a trade show or college fair, where participants will be stationed at tables and students can visit tables and chat with participants. This way students can learn about the necessary training/schooling needs, what it is like to work in that field, and have the opportunity to ask questions in a more personal and focused manner. In the past, students found this event meaningful and helpful for their post-secondary planning.

Sign up for the WHS Career Fair today:

 

Can’t make the event? Share your story!

Conquering Goals: Chris Terzigni

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Chris Terzigni, Class of 2008, Holliston, MA

What are you up to? I’m currently the principal of Founders Academy, a small charter middle school in Woonsocket, RI. I live in Holliston, MA with my beautiful fiancé, Laura. We relocated back to New England in October after spending the last 10 years in North Carolina, where we both attended school at High Point University.

How'd you get here? After graduating from WHS, I attended High Point University in High Point, NC where I earned a bachelor's and master's degree in Elementary Education. After I graduated, I found a job as a 4th grade teacher. Between then and now, I have taught 4th grade, 6th grade and K-5 STEM. I was also given the opportunity to work outside the classroom as a Personalized Learning Coordinator, where I oversaw the implementation of a one-to-one tablet program for two different middle schools. In 2017, I was given the opportunity to return to school at High Point University on a full-ride scholarship to earn my master's degree in Educational Leadership. I earned my Educational Leadership master's degree in May of 2018. Soon enough, I served as an Assistant Principal at an elementary school in Greensboro, NC before relocating to Massachusetts and accepting my current position as principal.

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What are your goals? It has been my goal for as long as I can remember to teach and then to become an administrator, so I would say I am currently living my goals and at a point where I need to start building new goals. I can see myself going back to school to earn my doctorate within the education field and after I have gained some valuable experience, look into leadership roles at a district level. I’m getting married in October of 2020, so starting a family and settling down is definitely on the horizon for me as well.

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be? Take more classes that would earn you college credit... college is expensive, the less classes you have to take, the less money it will cost you. :-)

Pharma Life: Jennifer Donato

Jennifer Donato, Class of 2011, Nottingham, MD

What are you up to? At this moment, I will be starting my career as a clinical pharmacist at Frederick Memorial Hospital in Frederick, MD and will be taking an exam to transfer my Connecticut Pharmacist License to Maryland so I can practice in the state of Maryland.

How'd you get here? I graduated from the University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy in May 2018. A short month and a half later, I started my post graduate year one (PGY1) pharmacy residency at St. Vincent's Medical Center (SVMC) in Bridgeport, CT. During residency I gained a ton of experience in different areas of clinical pharmacy within the hospital. After 3 months had gone by, I had to decide what I wanted to do when this residency program was over. In November/December 2018 I had decided to apply to various hospitals across the country for a post graduate year 2 (PGY2) pharmacy residency program in critical care. While applying to the various hospitals, I could tell my heart was not in it although I loved my critical care and emergency medicine rotations at SVMC. I did not receive any interviews from the programs I had applied to and not only did I notice but my mentor at SVMC had noticed I was not heart broken over the rejections. With the help from my mentor, I had decided to finish residency with a positive attitude and see where life would take me. And that's when I decided to move to Maryland when residency was over to start my career and my life too, since my boyfriend was already residing there.

What are your goals? My future goals are to become a board certified pharmacist in pharmacotherapy and to continue to grow as a clinical pharmacist.

 
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Jennifer Donato, 2011, Oakville, CT - January 17, 2018

What are you up to? Currently, I am in my last year of pharmacy school at the University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy in Downtown Hartford. This program is unlike a traditional pharmacy school where you do 2 years of pre-pharmacy and 4 years of pharmacy; instead at USJ SOP, you must received a bachelors degree prior to being accepted and then do 3 full calendar years of pharmacy. I am also in the process of applying to pharmacy residency programs.

How'd you get here? After graduating from WHS, I attended at the University of Bridgeport and received my bachelors of science in health sciences. Unlike a lot of people who I knew in high school, I knew that I wanted to do something in the healthcare profession, specifically pharmacy. So during my time at UB, I took prerequisites for pharmacy school, along with your general education courses, and courses in health sciences. It was super stressful applying to pharmacy school because I had to maintain a pretty high GPA in order to be competitive, my personal statement needed to be unique, and if the school was interested in me, I had to go through an interview process. And as a young adult at the time, I had never had to go through a professional interview. While going to school, I also had a part time job at ShopRite Pharmacy in Southbury. This job really solidified the fact that I wanted to go to pharmacy school and become a pharmacist. By March 2015, I knew I was accepted into USJ SOP and was excited to continue on the journey towards a rewarding career.

What are your goals? My goals for the future is to become a clinical pharmacist in a hospital. I would love to be board certified in critical care, where I can work in an ICU. This would require me to do two years of residency.

What has been your biggest challenge? My biggest challenge was during my junior year of college. At UB they have a contract with UCONN where I could apply to their pharmacy school and I'd be looked at as a UCONN student rather than an outsider applying to their program. At the time, I did apply, but unfortunately did not get an interview. Although this may not seem like a challenge to most, I was devastated and had to decide whether or not I wanted to try again the following year and earn a bachelors degree as well. If this didn't happen to me, I wouldn't be where I am today.

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What has been your happiest moment? My happiest moment was this past September/October. I was in Arizona/New Mexico for school, working at Gallup Indian Medical Center. This hospital is for Navajo Native Americans who live on the reservation. They are underserved and struggle everyday. At this hospital, there are pharmacy run clinics where the pharmacists see the patients and change medication therapy depending on what clinic the pharmacist is working in. The clinics ranges from diabetes to asthma clinic, as well as anticoagulation (blood thinner) clinic to HIV clinic. I also had the opportunity to live on the reservation. It was definitely a culture shock. There is nothing for miles around and some people are still live without running water or electricity. It was a meaningful experience to understand how the Navajo people live. On a positive note, I did get to do some traveling and see parts of the United States that I didn't think I would ever be able to see.

Advice for WHS Students? If you know what you want to do right out of high school, go for it! It might not be easy and you may not succeed right away, but in the end it will be worth it. Work hard and don't let others bring you down for wanting to do something different. This is your life and you only get one of them.

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be? Confidence is something that you gain over time.

Life In Watertown Survey

We had a little fun asking Juniors at Watertown High School about life in Watertown. The results were pretty hilarious to read and brought us back to our high school days. Some were really positive responses, but a lot were negative outlooks on Watertown (we asked students to make a hashtag for Watertown and one response was #dontcomeheretohavefun).

Of course, the negative responses make us question how the town and community can step up it's game. We are all for adding a skate park (one request from the survey), which has been something townie teenagers have dreamed of for years. We guess the town budget would have to pass first before we think the town will get a skate park, but hey, a townie can dream. On a serious note, we think that more things for teenage townies to do would really be a benefit the community overall and we're all for supporting these type of community initiatives.

The responses really brought us back to the days when we used to say, “I can’t wait to get out of this town.” Now that we are out.. well.. we love going back.

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After High School - Money Survey

We asked students about money and their understanding of loans, interest, and finances. We won’t lie, these results weren’t exactly straight A’s. We found that many students feel confused or unconfident when it comes to finances. We’re now wondering how the community can help make information about money, finances, and loans more accessible and understandable to all students so that they can make solid financial decisions. Let's get to 100% of students who understand loans, interest, and feel confident in their finances.