As a teen in the 90s, Dawn Pietropaolo thought she wanted to be a social worker and serve children.
Today, she does exactly that in a local district, but her story is not so simple.
As she finished high school in the Rochester suburbs, her family discouraged her from pursuing social work.
“My entire family was against college and against that profession in general,” she said.
Instead, Dawn got married and had four children, raising them and volunteering at their school. She has no regrets about her time as a stay-at-home mom, but a divorce led her to revisit her old dream. When her oldest, Juliana, applied to FLCC, Dawn enrolled in the human services program.
“We were freshmen together. We were in the same classes. It was a blast, and honestly, it gave me the confidence to keep going,” Dawn said of the camaraderie she shared with her daughter.
She also wanted to counter the message of her own upbringing and show that education is the way to move forward in life. What better way than to go to college herself?
Still, going back to school was intimidating. She credits Julianna, now a teacher at Red Jacket, for showing her how to study and credits faculty for inspiring her.
“I had professors who absolutely loved what they did,” she said. “At FLCC, it was more about you as a person, more about them sharing with you. They made it feel possible. You could go to any of the teachers, and they would want you to be successful.”
In the hallway of the Student Center, she met representatives from Keuka College’s bachelor’s and master’s programs in social work. They laid out the path for her to join cohorts that met at FLCC. She earned her bachelor’s in 2019 and continued into the master’s program.
“I stayed right at FLCC. Even when I got my master’s, it was at the FLCC campus in Victor. So if it weren’t for FLCC, I would not have done what I did.”
Shortly after completing her master’s degree, she accepted her current position, supporting special education classes for students who need cognitive and behavioral services. She teaches what are called social-emotional lessons, which means helping young children recognize their feelings and how to respond to them in a productive way.
Dawn works with children who may have no supervision or guidance at home or who may have experienced trauma. It is not uncommon, for example, for them to have no understanding of what it means to be or have a friend, she said.
“It sounds simple to people who did teach that to their children, but these kids don’t know. They really don’t know how to carry themselves or be a part of the world,” she said. Her goal, she added, is “teaching them what nurturing is, teaching them what safety is, teaching them what a full belly is like.”
It’s hard work. Children who lack cognitive or social skills may kick, scratch or swear.
“Do I love all of it? No. Do I ever get tired of it? Not at all. I’ll tell you why, because you get results, you can see results,” she said, explaining that young children can make rapid progress.
“To me, the rewards are constant: a child who wouldn’t talk to you when he first met you who is now regularly sharing things with you,” she said. “No matter what field you’re in, you have to bring your passion to the table, and it’s going to be whatever you make it.”
