News
July 6, 2020Schenectady Resident on Her Way to a Nursing Career After Earning Her High School Diploma Through Capital Region BOCES Adult Ed
teacher that treats her adult students as her own children.
That made all the difference in the world for Schenectady resident Azariyah Shepherd who graduated from the Capital Region BOCES High School Equivelancy program earlier this year.
“I really liked the program. I never learned like that in a regular school. Everything was broken down for me. Ms. Kelly is very efficient, she relates it to regular life She tries to translate it into an everyday problem,” said Shepherd referring to longtime BOCES teacher Kelly Mastropietro.
The 22-year-old said Mastropietro valued her students learning and wanted to see them all become success stories.
“She acted like we were all of her kids. It was really important to her that we pass. It makes you want to do well and please her,” Shepherd said.
She enjoyed the teaching style so much that in what can only be described as a “calculated move, Shepherd even took a subject, math, that she didn’t need to graduate just to improve her skills.
“I took math even though it didn’t count towards my diploma because I was always bad in math and because I could better understand it here,” she said.
The 22-year-old aspires to a career in healthcare, something that she credits the adult HSE program put her on track for after she quit The Albany Leadership Academy during the 2016-17 school year.
”I think was overwhelmed and it was hard and I didn’t know how far along I was. I actually only needed one course (to graduate), but I didn’t know that at the time,” she said.
“Then last year, people around me step their game up and I was like if they can do it, I can do it. My one friend was a drop out and she is going to St. Rose, so I decided to turn my life around and go get my diploma,” she said.
“I was always concerned that I was going to be the old person in the class and it was going to be weird but there was a lot of people who were older. It is never too late, there’s no reason to be embarrassed.”
She plans to continue her education in college and is completing the paperwork now to determine financial aid for a nursing program.
“I like helping people. It humbles you. I think working in nursing is one of the most impactful careers you can have,” she said.
