Join us at the Job Fair!
Former students often make great employees. Below, meet Teaching Assistant Lilia Corona and Data Entry Clerk Tania Chiavegatto, both former ESL students who have since enjoyed successful careers with Southern Westchester BOCES.
Meet Lilia, Mike and Tania, former students who became SWBOCES employees
Video Transcript
00:04 00:07
So I really wanted to improve my english a little bit more and
00:07 00:11
everybody was talking about BOCES the great program they have
00:11 00:14
and I went for it and it was really good.
00:14 00:17
He was I had great teachers
00:19 00:21
Very good teachers.
00:21 00:21
Very inspiring.
00:21 00:23
Very devoted.
00:23 00:25
It was just really good.
00:25 00:28
I very quickly I learned that this is what I wanted to do,
00:28 00:30
this is what I wanted to do.
00:30 00:33
I enjoy my job and I just went for it the certification to
00:33 00:33
become a TA.
00:34 00:39
It is a very challenging job is like it takes a lot of you but
00:39 00:41
also gives you a lot.
00:41 00:42
It gives you a lot.
00:42 00:44
So it's really really rewarding.
00:44 00:46
I was very inspired by my teacher.
00:46 00:51
I felt like oh this is good people this is like loving people
00:51 00:57
this is scaring people wow it just it wasn't me you know like
00:57 01:00
that idea that inspiration and everything and when the
01:00 01:03
opportunity came I just took it like I want to be part of
01:03 01:06
this the rewarding part of working with kids see them improving
01:06 01:07
every day,
01:07 01:12
see them getting better getting to know them spending time with
01:12 01:16
them but also what you get out of it.
01:16 01:20
Like it's challenging but you grow it makes you grow because you
01:20 01:23
don't know yourself until you're in the field that makes you
01:23 01:30
grow you know your limits until you're ready to test your
01:30 01:31
patience.
01:31 01:37
Love that you develop working with these kids it's just amazing.
01:37 01:40
I learn a lot of things every day from them.
01:40 01:43
You think you're here to teach them and they teach you,
01:43 01:46
they teach you more than you think this is a great job.
01:46 01:48
This is really a great job.
01:48 01:51
It's really such a good place to work.
01:51 01:55
It's just working with kids in general is such a rewarding thing.
01:55 01:59
We all understand that we're here for the kids and we're here to
01:59 02:04
learn to work together to do together and hopefully,
02:04 02:07
and eventually made some changes in this kid's life.
02:11 02:14
I've always considered Center for Career Services,
02:14 02:15
my second home.
02:15 02:19
Um, every time I step into this campus,
02:19 02:24
I feel like I haven't left. Everything that I learned, the foundation
02:24 02:28
was here, everything that I learned initially.
02:28 02:31
I learned right here in this classroom and then I went on
02:31 02:34
from here, I went to college,
02:34 02:37
I went to the School of Visual Arts at SUNY Purchase and then I started
02:37 02:41
working a news broadcast, the local Westchester news.
02:41 02:45
And then from there I went on to have a career in television
02:45 02:46
broadcast. Tony Ely,
02:46 02:49
who was the instructor and originator of the television video
02:49 02:50
program here.
02:50 02:51
He was retiring.
02:51 02:54
He had called me because I was,
02:55 02:56
I was still doing freelancing,
02:56 02:58
but I was kind of in between freelancing at the moment.
02:58 03:01
And you know, he told me that he was retiring and said, hey,
03:01 03:04
listen, you know, why don't you apply for the position?
03:04 03:06
I said, well I'll try, of course, I mean,
03:06 03:08
I think that's a great idea,
03:08 03:13
you know and he really wanted me to pursue this because besides
03:13 03:16
thinking that would be very good for the kids that you know this
03:16 03:19
would be the next evolution in my career.
03:19 03:25
Every time I step into this campus I feel like I haven't left now
03:25 03:27
that I have been here for four years,
03:27 03:31
I've gained a lot of really close relationships with all the
03:31 03:34
instructors and administration really does feel like family.
03:34 03:37
We're all willing to help each other.
03:37 03:40
We all do collaborative projects together.
03:40 03:42
Everybody here is great, super friendly.
03:42 03:48
I feel very supported. If you're gonna consider a job here at BOCES
03:48 03:52
obviously come in ready to you know be a team player.
03:52 03:54
that's what we are,
03:54 03:59
we are a team and many opportunities for everybody to have
03:59 04:01
success here for anyone coming here.
04:01 04:05
And yeah there is a lot of work to do but it's very rewarding
04:05 04:09
and fulfilling and every time I see you know kids smile or happy
04:09 04:14
to be back here and that's that's definitely part of the bonus
04:14 04:18
but also again supportive staff supportive administration.
04:18 04:22
Everybody is very friendly and everybody is willing to help out.
04:23 04:24
I came from Brazil,
04:24 04:30
I was looking for English class and someone told me that BOCES
04:30 04:31
was a very good school,
04:31 04:37
very good program and then I started in 1991 I met was a very
04:37 04:38
nice teacher.
04:38 04:43
She told me that there was openings for a registration aide. I applied
04:43 04:47
and then was accepted, and started in 1999.
04:47 04:52
Now I'm doing that in 2004.
04:52 04:58
The supervisor invited me to start data entry as a
04:58 05:06
a part timer 2004-2008 when they became employees with all the
05:06 05:08
benefits that I passed.
05:08 05:13
The civil service exam. Right now I work with the old registration.
05:13 05:16
Have to put that data for the registration.
05:16 05:20
Everything comes to me and they put inside I have to check the
05:20 05:21
reports, that
05:21 05:27
everything's okay and attendance I like both have a lot of
05:27 05:33
people can benefit from both not only as a student but then come
05:33 05:35
to work here like me.
05:35 05:36
I did.
05:36 05:37
I like the people.
05:37 05:39
They're all nice.
05:39 05:45
I think they should apply because I wake up like there was
05:45 05:50
talk about I'm always on vacation because I like my job.
05:50 05:53
So it's not a problem to me to come to work
