Jenna Deeg graduated from Colonie High School last month. She did her senior internship with the South Colonie Communications Department where she learned to conduct interviews, write articles and, among other skills, manage a website.
Q: What adversity have you overcome during your time at high school?
A: difficulty that I have had to overcome during high school was figuring out what career I wanted to pursue. I came into high school not sure what I was going to be doing after it. Honestly, during the middle of my senior year is when I started to figure everything out. All of my friends knew what they wanted to do, and it felt like I was the only one still trying to find a career path that would make me happy. College has always been something that scared me, especially since I never knew what I wanted to do. I realize now that I shouldn’t have been scared at all. Eventually, everything worked itself out and I’m excited for what’s ahead.
Q: What strengths did you find within yourself?
A: strength that I found in myself during high school was my ability to write. I never in a million years would have guessed that I wanted to do something along the lines of journalism. Once I realized that I had a talent for writing, and that it made me happy, I never wanted to stop.
Q: What teachers or programs helped you along the way?
A: The class that made me realize how much I love to write was my English 11 class taught by Mrs. Judge. In her class, we did a lot of work about ourselves and had to write a lot about our own perspectives. It’s always been pretty hard for me to write about myself, so her class helped to get me out of my comfort zone. This class allowed my writing skills improve. I would always be so excited to share my work with my family and friends. I showed my work to a friend one day and she told me that I should really consider doing anything I could with writing as a career. This class helped me gain a lot of confidence in my writing. Another class that helped me was my introduction to creative writing that I took this year, taught by Mr. Rouleau. It helped me figure out that this was truly the career path for me. I wrote things I never thought I could/would ever write. Poetry and play writing really pushed me out of my comfort zone, which I feel improved my writing tremendously.
Q: What are you looking forward to and what skills have you gained that you will take to college in the fall?
A: I’m looking forward to gaining new experiences in the fall and taking certain courses that will benefit me in my future career. I’ve experienced so much from doing this internship. One thing I have been able to improve is how to step out of my comfort zone. I’ve learned how to interview people and that was one of my biggest concerns when it came to doing this. Doing those interviews helped me not only get out of my comfort zone, but it helped me gain important writing skills. I can’t wait to take everything that I have learned throughout this internship to school in the fall.
Q: What memories at CCHS put a smile on your face?
A: Thinking back on my time in high school, there will always be memories that I will cherish forever. I made some of my best friends during my time here, I’ve had amazing experiences in orchestra, and I figured out what I want to do with my life. While sometimes it could be stressful and hard, the good outweighs the bad for me. My time here is one that I will never forget and I’m very grateful to have all of the good memories from throughout high school.
Information for this article was from the South Colonie School District Communications Department. If would like to see someone answer five questions, contact Jim Franco at 518-878-1000 or [email protected]
