By Jonann Brady and Michael Grife
As the American economy turned away from manufacturing toward white-collar professions, attending college became a must for many students. At Baldwin High School, only 25 students have said they will not attend a two-year or four-year academic program immediately after graduation.
Here are the stories of three Baldwin graduating seniors who are pursuing different paths.
Summer in school
Andrew Wright relishes the idea of spending his summers in school.
The graduating senior has spent the last three as part of the custodial staff of the Baldwin School District. After the final bell rings and graduates throw their mortarboards into the air on June 26, the following day will find Wright in the district office, pushing through some final paperwork and meeting with the "big shots," he said.
Wright put in his application to work as a school custodian back in September and was told the job was his as long as he graduated. He has no plans for a vacation or goofing off at the beach. He wants to get right to work.
"I love it," said Wright. "You give back to the community by working in the schools."
Wright, a BOCES student who studied small animal care, wasn't shy about pursing his interest in working at the school.
"I knew a couple of guys who worked as custodians. I approached them and asked, 'How could I get a job working with you guys?'," said Wright. The school guidance office then helped him secure the summer job.
Wright acknowledged that working as a school custodian is "something different. Not many people want to do jobs like that." When asked why, he said candidly, "Because it's hard work."
Wright is no stranger to hard work. Besides attending school and BOCES, he has worked part-time in the produce department of Waldbaum's for the past two years.
Wright has no reservations about staying in school, albeit in a different capacity.
"I really don't want to leave there," he said. "I have a lot of friends."
High tech
A computer glitch can send the most stoic and seasoned professionals into a rage.
Leonard Berecnicki, though graduating this year, has already had a taste of workplace (non)etiquette when dealing with computer problems.
"Everybody has bad days, I guess," sighed Berecnicki.
Since February, Berecnicki has worked part-time as a network technician for the Nassau County School District through a cooperative program sponsored by BOCES. Berecnicki travels to different school districts as needed to diagnose and fix computer problems.
When asked about the stereotype of the smug, smarty-pants "computer guy" in the workplace, Berecnicki is equally unruffled.
"It's not in my job description to describe what's wrong to the clients," he said. "You don't have time to sit around and chat."
As long as the problem gets fixed, the technician has done his job, he added.
Berecnicki, who said he preferred BOCES hands-on learning to regular academic classes, will continue his training at a trade school this fall, Island Drafting Technology Institute (check name) in Amityville. There, he will study computer electronics, or in his words, "the inner workings of a computer." In the meantime, he will continue his paid, part-time position with the school system.
After he receives a two-year Associates Degree, he hopes to get a job as a network administrator.
Though Berecnicki is "happy to be done" with high school, he may find himself back in the school system eventually. He hopes to parlay his part-time job with the district into a full-time gig two years down the road.
Finding a calling after 9/11
Oliver Lichtenthaler always knew he would join the armed forces. Sitting in a classroom, Lichtenthaler would daydream of representing his country overseas. His only question was which branch he would enlist in.
After watching the movie Iron Eagle at 16, a film about fighter pilots, Lichtenthaler had an inkling he wanted to join the Air Force, but wasn't sure until tragedy struck close to home.
Though high school graduates have shown more interest in joining the Armed Forces after Sept. 11, many of those who request information do not enlist, according to Emily Gockley, chief of public affairs for the New York City Army Recruiting Battalion. Gockley said that Army enlistments have remained relatively flat. "It's business as usual," she said.
But when the tragic events of Sept. 11 occurred, Lichtenthaler found his calling. He was a junior firefighter at the time and immediately reported to his station. His bosses told him to remain in Baldwin where it was safe, though he desperately wanted to help his fellow firefighters at Ground Zero. It was then that Lichtenthaler realized he wanted to join the Air Force, so he could aid in "stopping and defeating terrorism."
Lichtenthaler hopes to be a transporter pilot during his Air Force career, during which he will attend the Embry Riddle Aeronautical School. Embry Riddle schools its students on the science of flying, everything from plane maintenance to physics. Lichtenthaler is hoping the school will help him land a government job at the Federal Aircraft Administration or the National Transportation Safety Board, making and enforcing laws for air safety.
"I want to make sure the citizens of this country are safe whether they're on the ground or in the sky," said Lichtenthaler, who will be joined in the Armed Forces by two of his fellow Baldwin graduates.
