William Beekman:
CLASS OF 1985
Masterman Junior/Senior High SchoolClass of 1985
Philadelphia, PA
Russell Sage Graduate SchoolClass of 2002
Troy, NY
Washington CollegeClass of 1989
Chestertown, MD
Bridesburg Elementary SchoolClass of 1979
Philadelphia, PA
William's Story
Life
November 2015
My family and I live in an old farmhouse in rural upstate New York. I rarely get back to my childhood home in Philadelphia. It seems like scenes from another life. But I loved my childhood in Bridesburg on Gillingham and Belgrade Streets. If Tom Wolfinger is ever on here drop me an email l at beekmanw at crcs.k12.ny.us
If I have a regret, it's that I have not done a good job re-establishing lost connections from the various stages of my life. If you have somehow stumbled upon reading this, please don't be shy about contacting me to reminisce, reconnect, and compare life's notes.
It's hard to believe Sarah and I have been married nearly twenty-five years. We moved here directly after college, got married here, raised kids here, and I can't imagine living anywhere else (well, actually every winter I CAN imagine living somewhere else a little warmer and less snowy).
My oldest daughter Grace is now in college at Alfred University majoring in psychology, and Julia will be off to college next year, too, to study biomedical engineering. These years are exciting. Life has so many paths to choose, and as I've been watching my daughters ...Expand for more
grow ever more independent as they chart their own paths, I can't help but wonder how the course of life would be so different if way back when I had chosen engineering or if my car hadn't broken down on the way to my first job after college.
I get a tremendous charge out of teaching fourth grade. I am so glad I returned to school back in 1999 even though it was hardship to work days, study nights, with two young kids at the time. It took the death of my father to wake me up to pursuing what I really wanted before it was too late.
Teaching is my true calling. Every day I get to do what I love, and that is a remarkable tonic to dealing with the stresses of life and sometimes baffling lurches of educational reform. Being around kids all day keeps me young at heart, and I try to hold on to the joy I felt being a kid.
It may be sentimental mush, but I've always identified with Jimmy Stewart's character from "It's a Wonderful Life." My choices aren't perfect, I've gone off track at times, and left some dreams not yet fulfilled. But there is great meaning and purpose in knowing that your life and actions affect other people.
Will Beekman
Middleburgh, NY
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