Pay it Forward Fernanda!

As Anne Lindbergh once said, "One can never pay in gratitude; one can only pay 'in kind' somewhere else in life. Tonight I had the opportunity to participate in the single most gratifying opportunity I have had since becoming the 2010 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. In December I learned that the University of Phoenix was gifting each teacher of the year with the opportunity to help a high school graduate realize their dream of a college degree. The program enabled me to nominate someone who would benefit personally or professionally by earning a bachelors degree of their choice through a program called the Pay it Forward Scholarship.

I asked Mark Goldschmidt at Framingham High School to find me a person who really wanted to go to college. Someone for whom the traditional campus experience wouldn't work and he found me the perfect person, Fernanda Caixeta. He told me that she had worked really hard in school and that this semester her grades were higher than any other.That she took care of her young daughter, came to school every day and worked part time.When I met her I knew Mark was right. Fernanda told me that she wanted to be a psychologist.She knew that if her daughter Keane was to have a better life she would need to have a college education. I was impressed by her maturity and eagerness. Then I had the pleasure of meeting her family. They are all so proud, supportive and loving and they are all anxious to do everything they can to ensure that Fernanda will fulfill her dream - and so am I.

Fernanda, I wish you ,much success as you learn and grow. I know that someday in the future, you too will have the chance to pay your successes forward to someone else.