Mount prepares students for careers

Paul Fritz (right), who received his master’s degree in education from Mount Saint Mary College, speaks with Manny Juarez ’12, a science major who hopes to teach junior high school students some day. Fritz, a physics teacher at Valley Central High School in Montgomery, NY, was part of a professional careers panel sponsored by the Mount’s Career Center.

Newburgh resident Juarez said that after graduation he will apply to Teach for America and the Peace Corps and plans to obtain a master’s degree. He wants to live abroad and “not only embrace the culture but also help out.”

Fritz, who worked 20 years for major oil companies, switched to teaching, which “felt like a more noble profession” where he could positively impact students, helping them become responsible adults that think critically about the world around them, he said.

The Mount’s education program earns high marks in preparing well qualified teachers and administrators with the aggregate pass rate on the content specialty tests required by New York State for licensure at 98 percent. New York State requires at least an 80 percent pass rate.

Debra Calvino, who graduated from the Mount with a mathematics degree and also teaches at Valley Central High School, was named New York State 2010 Teacher of the Year.

The road to a career for Mount students includes 400 plus internship and co-op opportunities each year, opening doors to varied job opportunities in Long Island, New York City, the Hudson Valley, the Capital Region and beyond, making a Mount education a great value.