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Smith, who graduated from Corlears in 2013 and is majoring in Early Childhood Education with a focus on art, credits the teachers and staff at Corlears for her success — and plans on giving back to the community that helped her grow.
“I really enjoyed my time at Corlears,” she reflects.
Her interest in working in the education field stemmed from a combination of art and babysitting. She stated, “For a long time I had no idea what I wanted to do, but then I started thinking about it and I really liked art… [and] I liked working with kids.” Tenley is currently a junior at Sarah Lawrence College.
The Positive Impact of Corlears on Alumni
2013: Tenley, pictured left, with her fifth-grade teacher Susie.
Tenley attended Corlears from the time she was 2 years old through fifth grade. As an alumna of Corlears, she learned valuable lessons that are still carried with her today. The number one lesson being, “In a lot of ways it taught me how to advocate for myself.”
Tenley also went on to explain, “Obviously while I was at Corlears I didn’t think about the way classrooms were structured or curriculum was taught, but I’ve spent a lot of time in my classes at school [learning] what are the best ways to teach children, looking back… some of those things were applied at Corlears.”
She discussed the importance of volunteering and how it has helped her develop skills she will need as a future educator. Her takeaway as a counselor in training was, “I learned about how different schools and camp organizations structure their curriculum.” Moving forward, Tenley will be using this knowledge to better herself in the education field.
Overall, this is a great example of how our alumni are making a difference in their communities. Thank you, Tenley, for your dedication!
Tenley (second from the right), pictured with her fellow fifth-graders in 2013.
Share your Corlears story!
We are proud of our alumni and their accomplishments! Whether you're an alum who has special memories of your time at Corlears, or you now have an interesting career that was inspired by what you learned here, we want to hear it. Email us to share!