The person who has had the most profound effect on my professional life is Frank Cecela. He was my cooperating teacher at Campus North and he is responsible for the educator I am today. He taught me how to be a professional and how important it was to continue learning. He was not afraid to have the hard conversations that needed to be had for a beginning teacher at the same time he was always available with compassionate, kind and encouraging words. He loved teaching English so much and anybody who worked with him couldn’t not love it as much too. He encouraged me to join the National and WNY Writing Project as well as numerous other professional organizations, many of which shaped who I am as an educator today. Because of his example, I am a compassionate, enthusiastic, thoughtful and observant mentor.
