Having a dream of what you want your life to become is important. Having the desire and dedication to fulfill that dream is even more critical. Keystone College student Angela Ceccarelli has all of those qualities and more.
Angela is pursuing her art teaching certificate at Keystone in order to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a professional educator. She was recently honored for her efforts and her abilities with the Mary Ravita Memorial Scholarship presented by the Pennsylvania Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). The scholarship honors the late Dr. Mary Ravita, a lifelong teacher, school administrator, and assistant superintendent. Angela is the first Keystone student to ever receive the prestigious award from that respected organization.
“It is truly an honor to receive the Dr. Mary Ravita Memorial Scholarship from the Pennsylvania ASCD. I’m very grateful and I have so many people to thank for their belief in me, including my two children, Cody and Tanner, and the education faculty at Keystone College,” said Angela, a resident of nearby Jermyn, Pa.
As an adult learner, Angela’s story is truly inspiring. After graduating in 1992 with a bachelor of fine arts degree from another college, she pursued a successful career as an award-winning photographer and still maintains her own successful studio. But she discovered her true career love was to become a professional educator.
She postponed her dream as she raised Cody and Tanner as a single mom. Now that her children are grown, Angela has returned to Keystone to obtain her art teacher’s certification in the college’s accelerated program, which allows qualified candidates to take the required education coursed they need to become a certified teacher.
After completing her final courses at Keystone, she hopes to pursue a career in art education or possibly special education, which would fit in with her current position as a paraprofessional at the Lackawanna County Career Technology Center.
“I just love teaching. It’s so satisfying to see students’ faces light up when they understand something, when they really get it. To me, there’s no better feeling.”
-Angela Ceccarelli, Art Teaching student
Angela values the accelerated teacher certification program she has taken and excelled at as an honor student during her time at Keystone.
“It’s hard to pinpoint one single teacher. The entire faculty has been tremendous,” she said.
“They were able to keep me engaged and I learned so much from each class. Everyone has been so helpful and I thank them so much.”
Angela also has some sage advice for everyone, particularly working adults, who want to achieve something better in their lives: “Keep on striving. Don’t give up on your dreams. Find out what goals you have and don’t stop until you achieve them!”
