By Kathleen Benzaquin
As a staff person my perspective may differ a bit from that first class of students but I daresay we shared similar reasons for doing so. I was struck by the uniqueness of such a public school; the creative reasons for it were unlike any place I had seen or been to before. My M.O. has always been to find a situation that was the first of its kind or gave me the opportunity to start something where I saw a need. This school, only a dream still, was perfect. It involved creativity, risk and making things happen. It would require students, faculty and staff to go outside their comfort zones, to make a change from known to unknown and to trust that this educational and emotional risk would pay off. My role was to create the residential, work and community service programs as well as the student activities program all so similar to offerings on a college campus. This was suited to my professional background and seemed to blend my skills so well. I was excited for this opportunity but even more so I couldn't wait to meet the students, the "Pioneers" as we called them!
I like your story, Kathleen. I think that a lot of faculty and staff were being hired at the same time as student applications were being processed, so I imagine that a lot of your experience is similar to the experience of the first class of students.
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