Craig Vinciguerra

Current Position: Community Relations Director, Mercer Hill

Story Last Updated: Fall 2019
Current Position Updated: Fall 2023


With my high school career coming to an end, it was time to begin looking for colleges—a thought, at the time, that seemed so stressful, so scary, so "real-world like.“我开始向当地多所大学申请早教PreK-4和特殊教育K-8课程，并在三所当地大学中缩小了选择范围. I checked my mailbox more times a week than I did anything else that year. Upon being accepted to each of my top schools, I toured each university several times before making a decision.

During my tours at other schools, 我只是觉得自己不属于这里——就像我不在家一样……直到我参观了格温内斯仁慈大学. GMercyU的每个人都很友好，愿意帮助回答我可能遇到的任何问题. The GMercyU tours allowed me the chance to meet with students, teachers, and faculty that I would be working with. All of the professors at GMercyU were all interested in me and what I wanted to do, unlike at the other schools I visited.

From the first time I met my future education teachers and staff alike, I felt an entirely different feel than I had at my other college tours. I belonged at GMercyU.

老师们鼓吹说，小班授课可以让每个学生获得更个性化的学习体验——回顾过去, I have to say that that is 100% true. My average class size is approximately 15 students, although I have classes with as little as seven students and as much as 30 students. The learning is genuinely individualized as a result of these small classroom sizes, as compared to other universities with massive 100+ student lecture halls.

At GMercyU, you're not just a number in the classroom; you're a name.

Attending a shadow day where I went through a whole day of classes as if I were a student, allowed me to solidify my decision to choose GMercyU. Rather than read directly from a PowerPoint or textbook, 老师们亲自与学生们分享他们的知识和生活经验——这让我感到舒适和兴奋，因为我知道我将被经验丰富、经验丰富的教授们教授，他们确实是各自领域的“专家”.

通过教师学徒计划(TAP)，学生不必等到大二或大三才获得真正的课堂经验. 在不同的年级给我提供了丰富的经验和能力，与您合作的老师并肩工作, who provides insight into the world of teaching and how to be the best teacher you can be.

Initially when I came to GMercyU I thought I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. It wasn't until the end of my sophomore year that I had a realization. As I sat in a classroom taking a test in my Reading Sequences class, looking over all of the material, 我问自己，我是否能想象自己成为一名教师，并在未来不断地使用这些知识. Immediately after handing in the test, I walked over to the School Of Business to look into changing my major. At the time, I had just taken on a new job at a local retirement community that was just about to open, as a server and acting supervisor. This position allowed me the ability to establish routines, procedures, 以及新餐饮部门的组织——我觉得我现在似乎可以把自己看作是一个经理，而不是一个老师. I spoke with Mr. Mumford and we instantaneously went to work establishing my schedule for the next semester, my junior year. 他很善于观察哪些课程会排在一起，并使过渡尽可能顺利.

While the task of transferring majors seemed daunting, Mr. 芒福德为我制定了时间表，这样我就能坚持下去，并在四年后毕业. I entered my junior year of GMercyU as a Management 现在我已经决定，毕业后我想从事高级卫生保健管理方面的工作.

Between both the Education and Business programs, I’ve had excellent experiences with my professors in both programs. Given the size of GMercyU, it is not uncommon to have a major-specific professor several times per semester. Initially, 我觉得这会对我的学习不利——如果我不喜欢某个教授的教学风格或方法怎么办? Looking back, having the repetition of the same professors has benefitted me, as you get to know the professor, their expectations, and how they conduct the class. 这对教授也是有益的，因为他们知道他们的学生如何学得最好.

我认为GMercyU与其他大学最大的区别之一就是你不仅仅是班里的一个学生. You become a member of that department. You bring your unique take on everything and the professors genuinely value your input.

Every professor I have ever encountered at GMercyU is personally interested in your success. 当你做得好的时候，他们会在你身边，当你挣扎的时候，他们会在你身边. They’ll ask you how you’re doing, how your life is going—they genuinely care about you and want to hear what you have to say. You’re not just a student to them, but rather a work-in-progress. 教授把学生拉到一边问是否一切都好，这并不罕见——因为他们的成绩或出勤率可能在下降, or the student seems to be off-kilt. It is an enjoyable feeling to know that you are cared about.

During my sophomore year, 我是格温妮德幼儿教育慈善协会(GMAEYC)俱乐部的主席，我在那里策划会议, various events, trips, and guest presentations.

One of the significant events I designed with my colleagues was the Shepherd Project, a service project for an underprivileged school, St. Malachy's, located in Philadelphia. For Halloween, 我们作为一个俱乐部聚集在一起，为弱势学校的孩子们准备了礼品袋, delivered the bags to the children, and taught the children various lesson plans that we had created. 看到孩子们喜笑颜开的样子真让人感动，要不是我们去看望他们，这些孩子在万圣节可能不会玩得很开心. In spring, we planned a St. Malachy’s field day, 我们用各种筹款活动的资金把孩子们从费城送到GMercyU, and provided them with a fun day filled with arts, games, and fun lessons.

Getting involved helped me to get to know my peers, educators, and the school as a whole better, while reassuring my passion for teaching at the time.

Upon my transfer to Business, I was nominated for and became a member of Sigma Beta Delta, the prestigious International Business Society, which I was inducted into in April 2017. I am also a member of Sigma Phi Sigma, GMercyU’s chapter of this the Mercy honor society. Sigma Phi Sigma会员在整个学期都会开会，计划服务项目和研讨会，以使GMercyU的学生和员工获得更大的利益.

GMercyU also has a groundbreaking leadership institute program, the Griffin Student Leadership Institute (GSLI), which has three tiers: Emerging Leaders Certification, Evolving Leaders Certification, and Exceptional Leaders Certification. As a senior, I was in the top tier of the program as an Exceptional Leader. In this program, 我有幸与一位内部和外部导师合作，在我的大四期间，我与他见过很多次面. My internal mentor, Katie Reilly, is a personal and memory care health care administrator at a long-term care facility, much like what I want to do.

These mentors provide students with a vital connection to experience, values, 在我大四的时候，有好几次我向我的两位导师寻求建议.

At the commencement of the Exceptional Leaders program, 我写了一篇论文，讨论我在这个项目中的经历，以及它如何帮助我成长为一个个体，并最终成为现实世界中的专业人士，将我的领导知识应用到我的同事身上.

我也有幸参加了一年一度的GMercyU Board of Trustees Retreat会议. In this session, 我的任务是讲述商学院如何将天主教社会教学纳入他们的课程, 以及GMercyU的学生如何因为GMercyU的多样性而比其他大学的学生拥有真正独特的优势, liberal arts, service-based education at that creates well-rounded students and educated leaders.

I graduated from GMercyU with my Bachelor of Science in Management in May 2018. After graduation, I set out to pursue a career in Senior Health Care Administration, and landed a management in training program—“Operations Associate” role at a local, large scale Continuing Care Retirement Community in Bucks County. In this role, I rotate through every department and cross-functional business line in the operation, 希望能找到一个可以运用我在GMercyU所学到的领导力知识的职位. 我还想在不久的将来获得个人护理院管理员的执照, and eventually a master’s degree in Health Care Administration.

我和老年人之间一直有一种特殊的联系——从小就照顾我年迈的祖父母，直到今天, 加上在长期护理和退休社区工作超过六年的经验.

If I could leave anyone with one piece of advice, it would be that getting involved in college is vital. Don't be the naïve, antisocial freshman that I was, who refused to get involved. This only hindered my ability to establish crucial friendships from the beginning. By isolating myself, I only hindered my personal and academic growth by doing this, and could not honestly get the most out of my college experience. Yes, I will admit, that getting involved is a lot of work to manage—between homework, work, and club commitments, however, it is so rewarding to feel like you are contributing yourself, your knowledge, and commitment to a club or organization. Since getting involved, I feel like I have grown so much as a person both academically and personally. Yes, it may take some creative planning and time management, but it is worth the experiences you gain.

If it weren't for Sister Kati’s keynote speech at the Sigma Beta Delta induction, 她在哪里敦促我们面对新的机会，无论我们多么不情愿，都要说“是”, I would not be nearly as involved as I was in my senior year. She explained that we all have good days, bad days, and days that we feel like the world is collapsing around us.

However, if you say "yes" to every opportunity that you face, you will not regret the experiences that come along with that one word.

The possibilities are endless and you never know what you could have almost missed out on. I now strive to bring this motto into my personal and professional life, 并将继续使用这个，并将凯蒂修女的信息传递给我的同龄人.

A mind is like a parachute—it doesn’t work if it isn’t open.

I hope that you will find GMercyU as fortifying as I did. Here’s to a world of conquering possibility, prosperity and success!