Tina Zack:
CLASS OF 1984
Lenape High SchoolClass of 1984
Medford, NJ
Glassboro State CollegeClass of 1988
Glassboro, NJ
Pitman High SchoolClass of 1984
Pitman, NJ
Southampton Township Intermediate School 2Class of 1980
Vincentown, NJ
Southampton Township Primary School 1Class of 1976
Vincentown, NJ
Tina's Story
Life
I only attended Lenape for my freshman year, but I left all my friends from Southampton. I moved to Pitman, NJ and then graduated from Glassboro State in 1988. I pursued a masters in social work from Rutgers, completed in 1992. After several years as a social worker with Memorial Hospital of Burlington County, I am currently a school social worker with Bordentown Regional. Although I left Burlington County, I returned when I married my husband, Rob, in 1989 - he is a Willingboro native. We currently live in Burlington with our 9 year old son, Anthony, Lizzy (our cat), and Sara (our dog).
School
I attended Southampton Twp schools from kindergarten through 8th grade. My most memorable grade, currently, is 7th grade with Mr. Bratty. Mr. Bratty was a very cool teacher (being young and attractive didn't hurt either). But the class itself was "bratty" -- very unmanageable. As I work in a middle school now, I often think about that year and that the teachers survived, so why do the teachers I work with complain so much as we (in 1979) were much worse than the kids they have now!
Lenape High School was fun. I learned to accept the term "sweet" from my teachers, as they compared me to my brother. Working in the main library with Mrs. K was great. I made friends with upperclassman and had a great time. It was much better than going to freshman/sophomore study hall. I was part of the gymnastics team. We had a great season, although I was more or less along for the ride. These were great young ladies that I was associated with. We had a great time going to gymnastics camp that summer, too. However, that was my last "real" contact with Lenape students as I moved that summer.
Pitman High School had its good qualities. As a school, it is small where everyone knows everyone. Most of the teachers that I had were great! Who could forget Mr. Shaw (6'10"), Mr. Halloway, and even Mr. Genter in the history department -- of course there was Ms. Cronlund with her stories of her dog, too. I would come to school very early to avoid walking and meet and greet Mr. Halloway. It was a nice daily routine. I remember one Homecoming week when Mr. Halloway was tearing down the senior hallway decorations due to "inappropriateness" -- so glad to have been a junior then! birthdays among friends were fun. Best friend Lisa's birthday, we had the history teachers sign a bday card as we were always "harrassing" them during lunch! Mr. Genter played "Sweet 16" and "It's your Birthday" during class. Lisa was so great to embarrass. And don't forget the balloons falling from the locker!
Then, how could anyone forget Mr. Young. As a transfer student, he instantly made me feel as though I belonged (which can be hard if you are not born and bred in Pitman). Many afternoons were spent hanging out with Mr. Young. He had a great sense of humor and caring personality toward all his students. I loved being his teachers aide during senior year!
Overall, my school experience holds many memories, many which can't be described in a forum such as this. High School had it's good and bad qualities and moving to a new school made it more difficult, but I think it gave me some strength and confidence that I may not have had. I made some great friends, learned from example the type of person I did not want to be, and learned from some great role models of the type of person I want to be and hope I have become - honest, sincere and fair. Thanks to my teaches!!
College
Sorry to say that I have no great stories about College. I attended Glassboro State and lived at home. It was right for me, and helped financially. I worked hard to pay for school and wouldn't have time for partying, even if I wanted to. I did meet ...Expand for more
my husband, Rob, there during our freshman year. Because of this, 4 years of school were tolerable and fun. We "grew up" together during this transition into adulthood. I wouldn't change a thing!
I graduated from GSC in 1988, married in 1989 and in Sept of 1989, I began graduate work at Rutgers School of Social Work in Camden. Other than a robbery and brief "kidnapping" my first semester, my tenure at Rutgers was pretty uneventful. I graduated in January 1993 and have a Masters in Social Work.
Workplace
The college years were when I first got a taste of real work! For two summers, I worked in Struthers Dunn in Pitman doing assembly work. Decent pay for the day, and quite a learning experience. Many people from high school worked summer jobs there too. I learned that people who become supervisors allow power to get to there heads and that it could be as bad as high school in that they discouraged conversation. If I had to pay the bills, it was a job, but definately not a career! During the school year, I worked at the Pitman Bakery part time. To this day, I love the idea of working in an ice cream parlor. I really loved perparing and serving ice cream -- and Saturdays at the bakery weren't that bad either -- we got to bring home the extras!! My family was so sick of donuts and cakes!
Upon graduation, I began working in a group home for pregnant and parenting teenagers in Burlington. I was a counselor and had to do shift work. I learned that teenage girls are hard to work with, but hormonal teenagers are much worse. After 2 years, it was time to move on to Memorial Hospital of Burlington County. I spent 9 years with the hosptital, 7 of which were with prenatal and postpartum women as a Social Worker. The bulk of my time was in the prenatal clinic, providing outpatient services to women. I loved the work I did and people I worked with. Maternal child health is where I find my passion. But things happen in the world of healthcare and cutbacks happen. As a social worker who does not bring in "reimburseable" services, I was cut to part time. A blessing in disguise, though. For one year, I could work part time after the birth of my son. But, financially, part time would not cut it for the long run and you never knew when the next shoe would drop and they'd cut my hours even more! I moved to the rehab department coordinating child evaluations. I have moved from promoting healthy pregnancies to evaluating children for disabilities. Quite an education. I also was able to work with speech therapists, OT and PT -- a new experience.
Again, changes in healthcare prompts me to think about moving on. In my position, I had worked with schools and their child study teams and begun to be familiar with the special education laws. After 2 years in the position, an offer from Bordentown Schools came. A former colleague told me about an open position -- 2 months later, I was working in Bordentown Schools as a School Social Worker. I have been with Bordentown since 1999 and it is the hardest job I have ever had. I experience the stress and frustrations that schools have in order to educate children -- the pressures of home, community, state and federal expectations. None are realistically serving all children. The people I work with are the best and they take the resources and use them to maximum potential. I am blessed to work with such "heros" as are the kids who pass through their doors. But special education has its own stresses. But I don't think I am moving real soon. I love working with the kids - most do appreciate your efforts and even look to you for help - and I've been there long enough to see individual outcomes and progress as the students graduate. It's worth it!
Register for Free to view all details!
Reunions
Photos
