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Student Graduates into Teaching

By Jacqueline Escobar

Staff Writer

Olivia Kavanaugh is a senior art education major and the Vice President of the Student Government Administration (SGA). She is spending the spring 2019 semester student teaching at Babylon Jr/Sr High School and Cantiague Elementary School.

(Jacqueline Escobar) Olivia Kavanaugh, senior art education major, standing in front of her artwork

She is also working on her senior art show “which felt like a visual of my accomplishments in the art department here,” she said. “Working on an art show while student teaching was one of the hardest but most rewarding things I’ve done, and having my work on display has really encouraged me and reminded me to work on my art work while pursuing teaching,” Kavanaugh said.

Although student teaching is time-consuming, Kavanaugh said she’s going to take a step back to think about the art she wants to make now and in the future.

In her free time, Kavanaugh enjoys watching movies. “I’m a big movie buff. I could spend a whole day watching movies and researching them. And aside from that, I thoroughly enjoy photography,” she said.

Kavanaugh had many good experiences on campus. “I’ve had so many positive experiences here at Post, from welcoming in classes of students as an orientation leader for three years to serving as the Panhellenic President,” she said. These experiences have increased her leadership skills and allowed her to meet people that she hopes to know for many years after graduating.

Kavanaugh says that, along with the positive experiences, she had some negative experiences as a resident assistant in the dorms. “But, with that position, the negatives do come with the positives,” she said.

Kavanaugh’s advice to incoming freshmen is to “just enjoy college. If it means getting involved in as much as they can then that’s just wonderful. If they want to excel in their major then that’s great too. Everyone has their own version of having a college experience but they should live up what they have in their mind to the full extent.”

Following graduation, Kavanaugh plans to apply for teaching jobs, both in New York City and on Long Island, so that she can continue to work hard towards what she is passionate about.

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