I'm coming back next year. You bet! And I have. Every year of my life.
This chant has been stuck in my head since I was three, and my hot pink Crocs entered the front playground of Chautauqua Children’s School. I couldn't get enough. One would think that I’d be sick of school and want nothing to do with more learning in the summer. Not me. A lifetime of summers at Chautauqua Institution is a gift. Chautauqua's mission of lifelong exploration and discovery has molded me, inspired me, and created and nurtured a desire to learn.
How do you explain it? What is Chautauqua and how does it silently get under your skin, becoming part of you? Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine managing editor, aptly describes the Promise of Chautauqua as “roots and wings.” …show more content…
Friends are important, but were they more important than applying to the magnet program at JL Mann Academy to focus on science? The uncertainty of going where I knew nobody scared me. I walked into the unknown! The opportunity to be challenged academically has been invigorating. Added bonus – making new …show more content…
I had the opportunity to earn Key Club volunteer hours at a local YMCA outdoor center. I took a deep breath and marched in, a “confident” smile on my face, among the spiders, snakes and who know what else to clear out sheds, move logs, and clear brush. Mission accomplished. I was invited back for more. Snakes and creepy crawlies aren’t that bad.
After completing a summer internship at Parkside Pediatrics, I decided I would like to work there. One problem – they had never hired a student. I summoned all my courage as I contacted them to ask for a job. They hired me to a newly created position, “Medical Data Entry Specialist.”
I have come full circle. As a teacher at Chautauqua Children's School, I encourage 3 year-olds to pluck the strings of a cello, play in the woods, and create castles in the sandbox. It's my turn to nurture new Chautauqua roots. Chautauqua continues to deepen my roots and has strengthened my wings to venture into the unknown and face new challenges.
Return to the place that fuels and sustains my love of adventure, engages my mind and my passion to learn? I’m coming back next year! You
This chant has been stuck in my head since I was three, and my hot pink Crocs entered the front playground of Chautauqua Children’s School. I couldn't get enough. One would think that I’d be sick of school and want nothing to do with more learning in the summer. Not me. A lifetime of summers at Chautauqua Institution is a gift. Chautauqua's mission of lifelong exploration and discovery has molded me, inspired me, and created and nurtured a desire to learn.
How do you explain it? What is Chautauqua and how does it silently get under your skin, becoming part of you? Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine managing editor, aptly describes the Promise of Chautauqua as “roots and wings.” …show more content…
Friends are important, but were they more important than applying to the magnet program at JL Mann Academy to focus on science? The uncertainty of going where I knew nobody scared me. I walked into the unknown! The opportunity to be challenged academically has been invigorating. Added bonus – making new …show more content…
I had the opportunity to earn Key Club volunteer hours at a local YMCA outdoor center. I took a deep breath and marched in, a “confident” smile on my face, among the spiders, snakes and who know what else to clear out sheds, move logs, and clear brush. Mission accomplished. I was invited back for more. Snakes and creepy crawlies aren’t that bad.
After completing a summer internship at Parkside Pediatrics, I decided I would like to work there. One problem – they had never hired a student. I summoned all my courage as I contacted them to ask for a job. They hired me to a newly created position, “Medical Data Entry Specialist.”
I have come full circle. As a teacher at Chautauqua Children's School, I encourage 3 year-olds to pluck the strings of a cello, play in the woods, and create castles in the sandbox. It's my turn to nurture new Chautauqua roots. Chautauqua continues to deepen my roots and has strengthened my wings to venture into the unknown and face new challenges.
Return to the place that fuels and sustains my love of adventure, engages my mind and my passion to learn? I’m coming back next year! You