Have you ever wondered what life is like after you graduate? It’s a scary thing to think about but it’s right around the corner for the seniors graudating in May. Here to answer some of the scary questions is an English Education alum, Heather Flood, from the graduating class of 2009. During her four years at Siena College, she recieved the Saint Francis Award in 2008 and the Student Affairs Leadership Award in 2009. She is definitely a role model to look up to.
Her Campus Siena: Do you still use Franciscan values in your every day life?
HF: As a 2009 graduate of Siena College, the DORS (Diversity, Optimism, Respect, Service) values are still a major part of my life today as an English teacher at Maple Hill High School in Castleton, NY. Although there is much political strife in the education field at this time, I do my best to preserve an optimistic mindset and keep my students’ needs as my main focus rather than let the negativity cloud my vision. Each day is a new opportunity for learning and growth and optimism is the best way to foster that excitement about scholarship in my students.
Throughout my teaching day, I encounter a diverse group of students with varying abilities and needs. By establishing a relationship based on respect and rapport, I have learned how to best connect with each of them and meet those needs. Since my students’ personal lives affect their learning, I not only teach, but also mentor and serve as a guidance counselor. I have learned to “read” my students in order to effectively meet their ever-changing needs. Maple Hill is located in a small rural/suburban community in Castleton, NY and just based on location, there is a lack of diversity. In order to promote tolerance and respect for other cultures, I recently had my students take author Gene Luen Yang’s #ReadingWithoutWalls challenge. As the National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature, Yang wants every reader to explore the world through books. He says, “ Books have played a vital role in getting me outside of my comfort zone. I believe they can do the same for you.”
After so much hate spiraled throughout our society during the election this year, I felt like it was especially timely to teach tolerance with my students. They chose books about cultures that are different from their own, like Sold, LGBTQ lit such as Beyond Magenta, and even books about people with disabilities like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. At the end of December they made presentations about their books and discussed how they gained a deeper sense of understanding and compassion about the culture that’s different from their own.
In addition, as our society grows and changes, I also adapt my teaching in order to ensure that my students obtain the skills that they need to succeed in this diverse world. By incorporating technology such as extending our classroom beyond the walls of the school with Google Classroom or Skyping with journalists or other writers, I not only teach them English skills and create a responsive learning environment, but they also learn how to be tech savvy.
Teaching is a service that I provide each day to my adolescent students. I aim to teach them the skills and strategies necessary to become critical thinkers, eloquent writers and attentive readers; intelligence that will help them in every aspect of their futures. Outside of the classroom, I support my students’ interests by attending various athletic and musical events. I have served as a class advisor to help plan events such as the prom, senior trip and spirit week and I’ve also served as National Honor Society advisor. Currently I am the Newspaper Club faculty advisor and I’ve done this for the past three years.
By connecting with my students outside of the academic arena, I hope to encourage and inspire them. Many of my students enjoy giving back to their community and recognize the benefits of serving others. This holiday season, the co-editors in chief of the newspaper approached me about having our club adopt a child for the holidays. The club agreed that it would be a great idea and we all purchased clothes and toys for the three year old boy we adopted for the holidays. We even gave them a certificate to go see the Lights in the Park in Washington Park in Albany. My students were thrilled to shop for this child and know that the smile on his face on Christmas morning will be priceless.
Although I don’t believe in making it mandatory for my students to do community service within my classroom, I do encourage and inspire them to serve others whether that means holding the door open for each other or taking part in Habitat for Humanity like I did at Siena. Therefore, teaching is not only a job to me, but a lifestyle built on the foundation of Diversity, Optimism, Respect and Service.
HCS: Who was your favorite professor or class during your career at Siena College?
HF: This is such a tough question! I made many connections with my professors at Siena, so it’s difficult to choose just one. Dr. Lisa Nevarez inspired me the most with her intellect and ability to connect with her students. I took her Lit Perspectives course my freshman year and then tried to take every other course she offered during my tenure at Siena. Literary Criticism was the most interesting class I think I took. I especially enjoyed analyzing Children’s Literature through a Freudian lens or looking at the sexual undertones of some seemingly innocent books. I also vividly remember how much Sexuality in Literature broadened my perspectives of people who have experienced sexual abuse, have been shunned due to HIV, and were taken advantage of due to their gender.
HCS: What was your most memorable moment at Siena?
HF: Habitat for Humanity Spring Break trips. We would travel to Crystal Coast, North Carolina every Spring Break and help build homes. I’ll never forget climbing on the roof to use a nail gun to shingle or the time I got to operate the crane to put the trusses on the roof. Plus, the road trip in general was a blast (lots of snacks, sing-a-longs and laughs) and we lived in a beach house directly on the coast. As a trip leader, I had to organize the group, delegate jobs, and plan meals. We even created a warm and fuzzy wall where each of us had a paper bag with our picture on it and each day we’d write warm and fuzzy notes to each other about something we admire about that person or something great they did that day. I actually still have those warm and fuzzies in a frame with some pictures from our trip.
HCS: Do you still keep in touch with Siena friends or old professors? If so, how often do you see them?
HF: I do keep in touch with a handful of Siena friends and others I might not talk to as often as I’d like, but when we see each other we can pick up where we left off. My best friend and roommate of a few years (we met in Foundations class freshman year and then requested to live together sophomore year) is still my best friend. She moved to the Utica region of NY for awhile but is back in Albany and we aim to see each other once a week for hot yoga, shopping, or dinner. Aside from Maria, many of my other close friends are all over the country so it’s not as easy to see them. My friends Carly and Sam, who met at Siena and got married the year we graduated, have 2 little boys who I love to pieces, and they live in Vermont. I got to see their first son, Bailey, grow up firsthand in Albany when Sam was in med school, but now that they are in Vermont I have to keep in touch through pictures, video and phone calls. We try to see each other when we can but traveling can be tough with our busy schedules!
As for professors, I still see Mr. DiMarino (he’s like my Siena Dad) probably once every few months. Nate and I conduct a workshop for his class each semester on using technology in the classroom for education students and I have taken a few student teachers for him. We meet up for dinner with Mr. D and his wife Nancy every few months. He’s only an email away whenever I need something too.
HCS: What is one thing you’ll never forget about Siena?
HF: The Blessing of the Brains, 11th hour mass before finals, fireworks over the baseball field, Around the World festivities, our favorite cab driver, Stan, dancing at the Landing Zone (RIP) and bringing all of our families to Dapp’s Tavern the night before graduation (and dancing on the radiators).
HCS: If you had to do it all over again, would you do something differently?
HF: Study Abroad. I regret it every day, but I felt like I couldn’t between being an education major and having responsibilities with the Student Events Board and Habitat for Humanity. Plus, I honestly think I was too scared to be that far away from my family and now I wish I did that all differently. I did get to somewhat study abroad when I went to Assisi and Rome for 10 days on a Pilgrimage to learn about St. Francis (wow, what a spiritual experience).
HCS: Do you remember why you chose Siena College?
HF: The feeling of community. I visited so many schools like UAlbany, Boston College, and Northeastern, and I was initially so against coming to Siena because many people from my high school applied and went to Siena (in the past). My mom insisted that we just stop by the campus and check it out and I remember stepping out of the car underneath those tall pine trees by admissions and thinking “Wow, this campus is beautiful, I really think I can call this home.” On the tour, I got the sense of how involved I could be on campus and I knew I would be more than just a number to the college. I think I either went early decision or early action at Siena and it was the single most important decision I’ve made to date. I think the nurturing environment at Siena has fostered me into the individual I am today.
HCS: Were you involved in any clubs or student organizations? What were they like?
Heather: Habitat for Humanity, Student Events Board (I started off as Hines Hall Vice President so I could start off getting involved in a small way with SEB as a freshman and then moved up to Charity Week Co-Chair and I served as Secretary for a few years). I met some of my closest friends through these clubs and organizations because they were friendships built around things we valued. I met people who had the same mindset as me and morals.
HCS: How did you know you wanted to be a teacher?
Heather: As a little girl, playing school was one of my favorite past times. I would even make my dog serve as my obedient student. I went to Siena as an Undecided Liberal Arts major and just took a smattering of classes my freshman year. Dr. Nevarez was not only my Lit Perspectives Professor but also my advisor and one day I met with her to get some feedback on a paper I wrote. Dr. Nevarez asked me what I wanted to do with my career and when I told her I was still undecided she asked if I had ever considered teaching. I told her that it had always been an interest of mine, but I wasn’t completely sure. At the time, I had been thinking that I needed to find a career worth way more money so I could support myself independently. Dr. Nevarez said to me, “Heather, you have a writing gift and really need to share that with others.” She sold me. That’s exactly what I needed to help steer me in the right direction. I needed to hear what I was good at so I could decide what to do with my future and hearing it from someone I admired so much made it all the more important.
After declaring my major in English Education, the next few years at Siena helped me realize that I made the right decision. I founded an Education club where we tutored inner city students, established a chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the Education Honor Society at Siena and in every service opportunity I took part in, I realized that my future career would continue to be centered around service to youth. I knew that would bring me happiness, knowing how much I could impact teens, much more than sitting in a cubicle all day. It is rewarding when students come back from college to visit and reminisce about things we did or even when my freshmen continue to visit even if I don’t have them in class anymore. Whether it’s helping them revise college essays, giving book recommendations or just being a shoulder to cry on I know I am making a difference in their worlds. Although at times I question why I went into the profession when I bring home stacks of essays to grade and hours of work on the weekends, it’s important to remember the bigger picture.
HCS: Do you have any fun facts?
HF: Blueberry beer makes deliciously fluffy pancakes. We had some Wachussett blueberry beer left over at our townhouse when I lived in a 6-man in Cushing and on Sunday morning I decided to substitute that for the water in our pancake mixture – HUGE hit. We also did this with pumpkin beer in the fall.
HCS: Do you have any advice for a future alum?
HF: Take advantage of every opportunity you possibly can while at Siena and network, network, network. You never know when you are going to meet someone who could be a possible future connection to a future career path. Impress every person you come into contact with. I’ve waitressed in the Albany area at various restaurants and just in conversation with customers, so many people have said “I love Siena grads, I hire them in a heartbeat.” Many alum are still in the Cap Region too and as we all know Siena blood is thick so these alum are usually willing to go out on a limb for a fellow Saint. During my student teaching experience, I tried to make connections with many of the teachers in those school districts which worked out in my favor. I established a great relationship with Shaker HS and was hired right out of Siena as a Teacher Aide for a Kindergarten classroom in one of North Colonie’s elementary schools. That was perfect while I was going for my Masters in Literacy at UAlbany and waitressing [at the same time] and then mid-way through the year I was asked to take a part time teaching position opening that they had at Shaker Junior HS which helped me get some classroom teaching experience. After that, I planned to take a maternity leave at Shaker HS the following fall but then midway through the summer I was hired at Maple Hill HS and I’ve been there ever since – this is my 7th year at MH.