English teacher's compassion led Goetz to college
2008 Graduates: Who inspired you?
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Look at who inspired these grads
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Robin Turner, bachelor of science in accounting: My parents, John and Cindy Gilliland. "There was never 'pressure' to get straight A's, only the expectation that I would do my best. My parents are my heros. Their triumphs in life inspire me to be a better person, and a college education has given me the foundation that I need to make an impact in this world."
Stacy Rice, bachelor's degree in social work: "My mother went back to school when she was 50-years-old with nothing more than an 8th grade education. She got her GED and went to nursing school. Education was never really important growing up, but I always admired her for fulfilling her dream, and now I am fulfilling mine."
Drew Kachurak, bachelor of arts in journalism: My mom, Barbara Pinocchio, never had the opportunity to go to college, she has always wanted her children to do their best in school and attend college to earn a great education. I dedicate my hard work and college diploma to my mom, the smartest lady I know.
Philippa Lockwood, bachelor of arts in international affairs: My first class, my first semester, of my first year in college was Global Affairs 100 with Dr. Carina Black. As an outspoken, intelligent and worldly individual, Carina pushed us to see beyond established borders and into the wider world. As a result of the standards set by Carina in that first class, I have pushed beyond my own limits and borders and, this May, I will be the first International Affairs student to graduate with a focus in African Studies.
Danae Oar, bachelor of sciences in health ecology. My parents, Shirley and Donald Oar, have always pushed me to do my best in life, no matter what the direction was. College was the way to becoming a PA, so that is where i went. They always wanted the best for me...and the best was reaching my dreams no matter what they were.
Maria Paula Giraldo de Rogge, bachelor of science in biochemistry: My mom always said "the only thing I am going to leave you for sure is an education" so she did.
May 2, 2008
By John Trent
Adrienne Goetz can still remember the face, the hair, even the glasses, of the person who pushed her toward college.
Goetz had just turned 16.
She was a junior at Truckee Meadows Community College High School.
And she was struggling with some personal challenges. Her grades, normally never a problem, were close to bottoming out.
Enter her junior English teacher, Kathleen O’Brien.
O’Brien noticed Goetz’s falling grades. But more than that, she noticed that Goetz’s normally compassionate and giving nature had changed.
“Kathleen is one of those great teachers who cares about you as a person,” Goetz said. “I was being way too over-dramatic about things, the way you are in high school, and Kathleen encouraged me to work through it. She encouraged me in my writing skills. And about the future. She encouraged me about going on to college.
“She took the time to care about me as a person, and it’s something I’m never going to forget.”
Kathleen O’Brien is just one example of the numerous teachers, counselors, family members or friends that have encouraged the Class of 2008 to be where they are today – on the cusp, in a few more weeks, of becoming college graduates.
It’s stories like these that the University would like to know about.
Tell us about the person, the teacher, the steadying influence who encouraged you to go to college.
Using the form above, tell us about this special person. Who were they? Where did they teach? Why were they so special to you? Do you remember any particular moments where their influence helped you decide that college was the proper path for you?
For Goetz, it is obvious that her junior English teacher will always hold a special place in her heart.
Although O’Brien had a nurturing personality, Goetz also remembered O’Brien for her strict adherence to high standards.
“She was one of the most anal teachers I ever had,” Goetz, 22, of Reno, recalled with a laugh. “I remember reading ‘Hamlet’ in class, and we had to read it in the old Shakespearean language, and we would be stumbling through it all … very terribly. But that was the way Kathleen wanted us to read it. She made us reach her standards. She never, ever, not once, bent her rules.
“She made me want to reach her standards by the steadying influence she was and the caring concern she had.”
As graduation day approaches, Goetz said she has thought about O’Brien frequently. The two actually had an impromptu reunion recently at a local coffee house. As Goetz saw her former teacher, many memories flooded her thoughts.
Here was the teacher who was responsible for Goetz having a minor in English at Nevada. “I’m a psychology major, but I have a creative writing minor, and if not for Kathleen, I wouldn’t have been that way,” Goetz said. “Because of her influence my writing side was drawn out, and now I love to write. ”
Here was the teacher who was, perhaps more than any other teacher, responsible for her upcoming graduation.
John Trent is senior editor in Digital Initiatives.
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