Unapologetically Herself: Karina Sorensen

Karina Sorensen, Class of 2014, Oakville, CT

What are you up to? I am currently in my second year of school working towards my Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling at Albertus Magnus in New Haven (I LOVE this program) while working part-time at Images Studio in Watertown (and I LOVE this work family). I'm still involved with my own art on the side, including being hired to draw portraits (both humans and animals!). I also just had my artwork displayed at Hawk Ridge Winery for the month of October as their featured artist of the month! All of my work is at www.karinasorensen.com and on my Facebook page @artsmudges.

How'd you get here? I started out at Naugatuck Valley Community College, which I wasn't sure about at first, but I saved a TON of money and it gave me more time to figure out what I wanted to do. After I got my Associates Degree, I went to Western Connecticut State University to get my Bachelors in Art with a minor in Psychology.

During high school, Mrs. Ciampi had suggested art therapy to me. But at the time, I wanted to do something else and I kinda forgot about it. When my undergraduate career was coming to an end and I had to decide what was next, art therapy came back to my mind. I've loved art since day one and I've always been fascinated with psychology since I took AP Psych with O'C, and I know I'm on this planet to help others. So...it's really a perfect fit.

What are your goals? My goal right now is to finish this program, get my Masters, and begin my career! I really can't wait for my future as an art therapist. I'm not yet sure what that will look like, but I know I'm excited. I still have another 2 years in the program and I don't start internship until next year - but once I do, I hope to have a better idea of which population(s) I want to work with most. Art therapy is truly a remarkable profession - helping people work through their deepest traumas via creative expression is unlike anything else and I cannot wait to continue experiencing and learning everything it has to offer.

I also hope to further my art commissions. I've illustrated portraits, designed tattoos, created gifts, you name it...I absolutely love creating, and I love being able to create something special for someone! (Contact Karina here if you are interested in a commission)

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be? Be unapologetically confident, loud, and yourself. It is a waste to care about what others think and to not spend every second you can being yourself.

Accepting the Unexpected: Nathaniel Habegger

Nathaniel Habegger, Class of 2009, Manhattan, New York

What are you up to? I currently work as a Creative Coordinator for a marketing firm in downtown Manhattan. I manage social media and in-house photography. I also help with ideation of events/marketing plans and I contract talent. In addition to my full-time job, I run my own menswear blog and manage social media channels daily. On top of it all, I shoot photos professionally for clients and for my own blog.

How'd you get here? Well, before moving to New York, I wanted to be an actor. I acted in all of the high school shows, loved music, and was incredibly passionate about that career path. Six terrible auditions and college rejection letters later, I realized that acting was too much rejection for me to handle. At this point in my life, I had put all of my eggs in one basket and assured myself that being on Broadway was the ultimate goal. Also, at this point in my life, I had taken advantage of a teacher-student relationship to change my grades in the school computer system. This act of tom-foolery lead me into an emotional downward spiral (as I was almost expelled months before graduating high school.. terrifying). I fell from the pedestal I had put myself on and didn't know who I was anymore or what I was going to do. I felt like a delinquent and that I would never recover from this mistake. So after graduating in 2009, I took the summer to figure out what I wanted to do. I always loved fashion and I loved art. I went to Western Connecticut State University for a year to gain credits before transferring to a private school in Manhattan called The Laboratory Institute of Merchandising. I wish someone had told me that none of my credits from Western would transfer to LIM, but that’s ok. What’s another loan to pay off right? 

I moved to New York and thought I was the best. Come to find out, everyone in New York is the best and I was the worst of the best (or maybe a little better than the worst, but still.. small fish big pond situation). I worked for Coach as a Visual Merchandiser for about 4 years. A Visual Merchandiser is a term used in the fashion/retail industry for someone who creates window displays. I left that job to start working as a Creative Coordinator, which is what I do now. In the process of all of this, I started my own menswear blog and made insane connections with people all over the city through Instagram.

What are your goals? I want to write a book, open a restaurant, take beautiful photographs, open a ceramics studio and start a fashion company. It’d be really cool if I could do all of that, but we’ll see.

What has been your biggest challenge? Self acceptance. I think the hardest part of this journey (which by the way is still JUST starting) has been accepting myself for who I am and not who I think people want me to be. After high school, I left the comfort of home, family, and friends. I had such a strong sense of self and was incredibly confident. Moving to New York really knocked me down a few pegs. It made me see life on a much larger scale. Figuring out who you are is an ever going project that seems endless, and it kind of is. Figuring out how to love the part of yourself that has flaws and that part of yourself that you don’t like is the biggest challenge. It’s the most rewarding when you overcome all of that; when you can sit with yourself and appreciate who you are through and through. By the way - I’m still working on that…it ain’t easy kids.

What has been your happiest moment? There are a couple happy moments I've had recently. One being the day I started my current job. Another would be being featured in a digital campaign for Uniqlo. Both really made me feel like I had made it even though I’m still fighting to make it!

Advice for WHS Students? Start to look outside yourself. Start to be curious about what else is out there in the world. Watertown is an amazing town to grow up in, but I think it’s incredibly beneficial to look beyond the horizon to see what other opportunities are out there. How can you appreciate something if you never lose it? Another tidbit of advice: If your dreams don’t come true immediately, that doesn’t mean they never will. Some dreams don’t come true (like me being on Broadway because I’m not a knock out actor, but was passionate about it!) but your dreams can morph. Allow yourself to accept the ebb and flow that is life. You won’t win them all, but if you do something that makes you feel fulfilled, you’ll be happy. You can reinvent yourself everyday, and should. ALSO: You’ll realize how lovely being in high school is the second you step into the real world.. so enjoy it while it lasts.

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be? I would tell my high school self to shut up and sit down. I was so cocky in high school. I thought no one could touch me and that I was the best. Turns out, I was really lazy and kind of a jerk. Don’t get me wrong, I think most people who knew me would agree I was a good kid, but I was definitely not interested in working hard in class. I’d also tell my high school self that I can do anything I put my mind to and then to actually put my mind to it instead of sitting waiting for life to happen.

Electrified: Steve Sicard

Steve Sicard, Class of 2011, Southington, CT

What are you up to? Currently I am two years into my electrical apprenticeship for an industrial company in Waterbury. I service industrial and manufacturing facilities across the state as well as build control and automation systems. I spend most of my time working, but I have recently enrolled back in school to get an electrical engineering degree.

How'd you get here? I guess this all started my senior year of high school. To be honest, I never really cared much about school. I skated my way through high school, having more fun than anything else. I don't regret that, high school was a blast and I'm glad about how I did it.

Senior year everyone was applying to schools and figuring out what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives. I, on the other hand, was in denial about it ending. So, when March came around and I had to make a decision on what to do, I chose to go to Western Connecticut State University to study Criminal Justice. This decision was based solely on the fact that many of my friends were going there and that everyone always told me that I HAD to go to college after high school. Two years of school went by and I realized how much I despised the subject. That's when it hit me. Why should I go to school and waste all this money on something I don't even like? I actually signed a leave of absence form that day and dropped out of school, unbeknownst to my parents, of course.

I finished out the semester working full time for a local amusement park as a mechanic. This is when it all changed for me. My boss at the time was very supportive in my decision but also pushed me to do better. He encouraged me to work with every type of trades-person that he hired and told me to try to find one I liked and pursue it. I tried all of them, but found electrical work especially interesting. Fast forward 3 years and here I am: trade school completed, half-way through an apprenticeship, and back in school for something I really love.

What are your goals? As of now (they seem to change constantly) I'm pursuing my master electrician's license, a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, and working to obtain a professional engineering license. I have been all over the place in what I want to do with my life and I finally have found a future I'm very focused on. I'm fascinated by electrical control and automation and want a career in designing and building those systems.

Advice for WHS Students? For starters, you DO NOT have to go to college directly after high school. I 100% believe that higher education is the way to go, but don't rush it. If you don't really understand what you want to do, you could end up with years and thousands of dollars wasted on something you will may never use, with possibly a paper to show for it (if you make it through). Instead, take every opportunity to try different things and explore what really interests you. Once you have found that out, pursue it with everything you got. You'll never fail if you give something 100%.

Secondly, NOTHING is going to be given to you. You have to work your ass off for everything. One of the biggest things I have noticed about my generation is the sense of entitlement everyone seems to have. Don't expect to get anywhere in life being lazy, it may have worked in high school, but in the real world you will fail.

Finally, never stop striving to do better. One of the best quotes I have ever heard was this "Successful people continuously learn new things, unsuccessful people think they know it all."

P.S. Don't be afraid to work with your hands. Growing up I worked on anything I could get my hands on, from cars to bikes, but I was always told that it wouldn't take me anywhere. WRONG. The world will always need skilled trades.

A Running RN: Jennifer D'Angelo

Jennifer D'Angelo, Class of 2008, Cheshire, CT

What are you up to? I'm very happy to be a registered nurse at Smilow Cancer Hospital, part of Yale-New Haven Hospital. I started working there in May, on one of the outpatient floors. My day consists of administering chemotherapy to hematology patients (patients diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma), drawing their labs and giving them blood products as needed. I love taking care of oncology patients. They are the nicest, most grateful people I have ever met. I have taken care of cancer patients whose ages range from early 20s to 90s. 

I recently passed my oncology nursing certification and I am going into my 2nd semester as a graduate nursing student at Western CT State University in the Adult Nurse Practitioner Program. 

Even after tearing my meniscus and getting knee surgery in 2014, I'm still running. I ran my 2nd half-marathon last November; the Disneyland Half Marathon.

How'd you get here? Before my current job, I worked as a RN at Saint Mary's Hospital on an inpatient medical oncology floor. The floor was not 100% oncology so when I got tired of working the 3pm-11pm shift, I moved on to my current job. I absolutely love oncology nursing. If someone told me in high school or even while I was in nursing school, that I would work in oncology, I would have told them, "No way! It's too sad!" But after I graduated nursing school, I had two grandparents diagnosed with cancer. They passed away a year later. It changed me, in a good way. I really love being able to give back to these patients and their families.

What are your goals? In December 2018, I will be done with my MSN degree, take my boards, and become a certified APRN. My dream job would be to continue to work at Yale-New Haven Hospital as one of their oncology APRNs. After I graduate, I want to get married and have kids. 

I also want to run more half marathons and hopefully a full marathon if my knee cooperates.

Advice for WHS Students?

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Remember what makes you comfortable will never make you grow. 

Don't take your high school relationships seriously. You will change so much even though you may think you won't, you will. True love comes around when you LEAST expect it to. Don't go searching. 

Don't take things or people for granted. Be grateful for your health and for the people in your life who love you. 

May the force be with you.

What is your greatest weakness? I worry too much.

A Townie Mad Scientist: Patrick Finneran

Patrick Finneran, Class of 2010, Waltham, MA

What are you up to? I'm going into my third year of my PhD program for Biochemistry and Biophysics at Brandeis University. For the most part, I work in a research lab and take very few classes. I do research that uses the study of evolution to better understand problems faced in different types of cancer on the level of proteins and molecular interactions.

I've also recently had the chance to drive across the country with my girlfriend and see all the major places I've wanted to see in the United States.

To me, biochemistry and traveling are just different ways to learn more about the world.

How'd you get here? I was lead to think that I wasn't going to succeed if I studied chemistry. For many of my high school classes, I rarely did my homework and some teachers never saw me as one of the best students. No one ever had to directly say it, but it was implied. Statements would be made about the types of students that succeed in college and I never felt like one of them. This had a large impact on me.

I had a very positive experience with psychology in high school and I enjoyed it a lot. So, I went to college as a psychology/Pre-Med major at Western Connecticut State University. Within less than a year I learned I was not in the right program and switched to major in chemistry, which is what I really wanted to do. Eventually, I joined a brand new lab in the department and did biochemistry research for about 2 years. I worked on a research project focused on malaria. Eventually, I applied to a few grad schools and found the one that offered exactly what I was looking for in a program.

What are your goals? I've been changing my goals and making them up as I go along; that's the fun part. One year ago, I would have said I wanted to teach at a college for undergraduates. Right now, I've been thinking about working at a law firm and going to law school to work in intellectual property law for biotech companies. My family will most likely laugh at me if I keep going to school.

Advice for WHS Students? Don't let others influence your opinion of yourself. If you want to do something; go for it. College gives you more motivation than what high school gives you. Also, talk with others about your problems. In my PhD program, every student has a different strength and weakness and it's helpful when we remind each other that both science and life are hard and we can't be perfect so we shouldn't stress out so much.

What is your greatest weakness? Laziness