John Paladino:
CLASS OF 1978
Chatham High SchoolClass of 1978
Chatham, NY
John's Story
Long story short: Went to Cleveland, premed at Case Western Reserve 2 years, decided I wanted to study music; transferred to IU Bloomington, eventually made it through degree program in Violin. Very competitive field, which I was ill-equipped to study, much less make a career of. Even so, it wasn't all storm & stress. Made some very good friends, dated some really nice women, baptized into Christ at local Church of Christ. Came to love the long summers and colorful autumns of southern Indiana. Did a lot of biking, and got into the best shape of my life.
However wonderful the bohemian-student-musician life was, still needed to earn a living.
Therefore...took a few more courses, then transferred to Medical Center in Indianapolis and became a Cytotechnologist (CT). CTs look at cells under the microscope and diagnose cancer and a few precursor diseases. Moved to Chicago to ply my trade. After acquiring experience, started moonlighting at multiple hospitals, generating savings and paying down debt. Was a department of one at several places for periods of time ranging from 2 weeks to 2 years.
In 2000 went to business school in Orlando, earning my MBA at Rollins College in 11 months. Painful and sleepless doesn't BEGIN to describe this year. After graduation, moved back to Chicago, worked for a year in industry, another in upper admin at a local hospital system. Otherwise the MBA wasn't helping me, and I wasn't effective leveraging it in the then-difficult job market. Went back to Cytology, making good living but realizing it's a buggy-whi...Expand for more
p industry, and technology would eventually eliminate my job. So started working with a career counselor, a Mr. Dan Moran in Colonie, and am currently in a job search outside the laboratory - hoping to land something by years' end (2014).
Along the way, the violin played an intermittent yet important role. During my second year in Chicago, studied with a local teacher, joined his orchestra, and in August, 1989, all 93 of us went to Taiwan and Japan for a two-week music exchange / festival. I was concertmaster of the orchestra; lots of work, and I was sick as a dog most of the time, but it was a priceless experience. Stopped playing to pursue above-mentioned moonlighting. Played here-and-there in a Civil-war-period group, doing reenactment gigs 3-5 times a year. Stopped again to learn guitar, and stopped THAT due to a neck injury. Tried violin again, after a 7-year hiatus, and to my amazement, am re-learning to play.
Met some really wonderful women along the way, but alas, "the right one" never came along. Had opportunities to marry, but never saw the logic of getting married "because it's time". As they say, better to be single than wish you were. Even so, the value of what I have learned from the women who have graced my life thus far is incalculable. So if my singleness may sometimes be painful, my gratitude for the women I've known is boundless.
So...what does "John P. 3.0" look like? Don't know yet. But by God's grace, it'll be great.
I sincerely hope everyone reading this is doing well and deriving great satisfaction from life.
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