We are always asked what we’re doing after high school. I’ve created a series of asking teachers what they were doing before working in education. Having teachers unsure about what they were going to do when graduating, may make us feel a little better. In this article, I interviewed a Social Worker Maureen Tranquilli, and Guidance Counselor Mrs, Sayed.

Social Worker Mrs. Tranquilli talked about what she did before becoming a Social Worker. She said she got her degree in psychology. When she graduated, she thought she could get a job with her bachelor’s degree, but found out that she could not get the job she wanted. After graduating, she did get a job at the Paul and Lisa Program. Her job was to get prostitutes off the streets of New York. She also went to schools and educated the students about teen runaways. Many prostitutes were teen runaways. After this job, she was a paraeducator here at The Morgan School. Mrs. Tranquilli was also a waitress at Chips Pub. She said if she wasn’t currently a social worker, then she would still be waitressing.

Mrs. Tranquilli saw herself here when she was in high school, but it took a while to figure out how to get here. She said she was set on becoming a social worker, but there was a time when she thought about being a lawyer because of the money. However, she stuck to the path of social work. She said her favorite part about her job is no day is the same. She loves working with this population. She actually chose Morgan over Eliot. She likes helping people when they need it, and she hopes she is making a difference and some sort of impact. Mrs. Tranquilli said she recommends social work to students. She has had some students who graduated and became social workers. She enjoys telling them how to do it the right way, without the years she spent working to earn money to get an advanced degree.

School Guidance Counselor Moheba Sayed said she worked many jobs before becoming a school counselor. She worked in college admissions reading applications. She has worked in corporate recruiting and technology. She also worked for an international consulting company and a staff development program. She ended up getting laid off, and that helped her decide to become a school counselor. Mrs. Sayed said if she wasn’t currently doing this job, she would be at home with her two children. Mrs. Sayed did think about working in politics. She had an internship at the Capitol, and that made her realize she did not want to do that. At the end of her time at college, she got a job in public admissions. She pictured herself in a corporate setting until she was laid off. Her favorite part of the job is being able to work with students. She would also recommend this job to her students because not every day is the same. It’s a good choice if they enjoy helping others.

This series was made to let incoming seniors know that it is okay to graduate high school and not know what you want to do. Some of our favorite teachers switched careers or had a different career in mind when they graduated from high school.