They can’t emphasize it enough. Parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, or any adult that wants the best for your future has given you those lectures and encouragements on how important school and education is. Especially in middle school and going into high school, you can’t hear it enough. For those rebellious teens, school is just a torture chamber, with monotonous lessons, and blabbering teachers who don’t know how to have fun. But then they have their good days, where confidence and the interest to learn sparks them up.
On the evening of Wednesday, May 2, the seniors of Stagg High had a surprise visit at their Senior Awards Dessert Ceremony. A Stagg graduate from seven years ago, Christa Curtin, delivered a speech, sharing her story of her journey through high school and what it took to make it to where she is now.
“It was really great coming back,” she said. “It’s funny coming back and seeing the teachers.”
Curtin currently manages and organizes the advertisements that go on Pandora, an Internet radio site since last year.
It took hard work and dedication to get her the job that Curtin loves now. She went to college for five years, and double-majored in communications and art. She took on to study graphic design, newspaper, and advertising. Curtin explains how being on the yearbook staff in high school was beneficial and helpful to her in college.
“Yearbook taught me to manage my time and meet deadlines,” Curtin said. “You’re learning how to prioritize and learn how much time to spend studying one thing or another.”
BeforE Curtin got her job at Pandora, she worked as a nanny for her cousin who was less than a year old, for six months. Curtin also was an administrative assistant to a business woman in Berkeley, and also did account maintenance and management.
Curtin gives the seniors a bit of meaningful advice, “Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and try new things.” She knows how it is to be judged, especially in high school. She also advises to take classes in college you like and think are interesting.
