Robin Jane Kluz:
CLASS OF 1969
Ramsey High SchoolClass of 1969
Ramsey, NJ
Ramsey Grade SchoolClass of 1965
Ramsey, NJ
Wesley D. Tisdale Elementary SchoolClass of 1963
Ramsey, NJ
Heights Elementary SchoolClass of 1962
Oakland, NJ
Valley Middle SchoolClass of 1959
Oakland, NJ
Robin Jane's Story
Life
Where to find me... MySpace (smartipants2) or search for me on LinkedIn (robinjanekluz) and Facebook (in the Northern Colorado network). On Flickr, search for "smartipants" to see photography or "smartipants2" on YouTube. Enjoy the reading! And feel free to IM me from the MySpace page and check out my blog.
School
Started school in Oakland. Kindergarten classes were held in a building that was alternately the municipal offices, library, rec hall, school room - adjacent to Valley School in the same parking lot overlooking ball fields and the summer recreation areas. Valley School for 1st and 2nd grades, an old, stone-fronted school building. Since I lived in the Heights, I transferred to Heights Elementary the first year they were open - third grade for me. We moved to Ramsey in '62, and I started the sixth grade at Tisdale. When I attended Dater, it was Ramsey Elem. School #1 (or "School St. School") w/ grades 5-8. Had the chance to revisit the school in 2004, only to learn that they're tearing down the building! At RHS (65-69) I HATED everything about school. Today, I can't learn enough. I want to know everything. My favorite thing in life (after grandchildren) is my COMPUTER. I love to play with graphic software in addition to pulling the case off to update the hardware. Total computer geek... and helped some of my college professors teach digital imaging! :o)
College
They called me a "non-traditional student" when I started my college classes. I'm willing to bet that NO ONE at RHS would ever have imagined ME in college and getting straight A's and B's! OK - so it took me until I was 51 to get my sh** together and finally start my degree program. And I admit that I had a LOT of help from a handful of exceptionally caring people. BUT... I had a blast living with the young students in the dorm at Heartwood, and made a few new friends at University of Maine at Augusta. I graduated magna cum laude in May 2007. Cried through most of the commencement (for the relief that it was over, the sadness that I could have done this much earlier had my childhood experiences been different, and the anxiety that I now had leave a comfort zone that had established and return to the workplace). When my father passed away in 2000, he left ...Expand for more
me a substantial amount of money. Most of it was used to pay for college as a tribute to his life-long obsession with learning. I know he'd be proud of me!
Workplace
After moving to Maine in '94, I got a fairly good job through Manpower. Was only supposed to work one day, but the boss liked me and created a position so I could stay on. It lasted almost eight years! In that time, they gave me so many opportunities to grow, especially into graphic design and marketing. I was getting bigger annual raises than anyone else in the company and proving my worth in many different ways, in pretty much every department. Then they sent me to a Professional Development program. Their mistake! The counselor asked why I don't quit, go to college full time, and finally get my degree. I thought about it, thought it was impossible. But the family said, "Go for it!" So I quit there in August 2002 and started at Heartwood College of Art in Kennebunk. What a wonderful place. Only seventeen full-time students - incredible personal attention in every class. They immerse you in the fine arts (my concentration was photography). Well... I finished a year there and then transferred to University of Maine at Augusta for the next four years. Did my work-study in the college's Marketing and Publications Dept. for three years (not counting summer semesters). They weren't advertising for a Marketing Assistant, but I walked in and said that if a position opens up, I want to be considered. They looked at my portfolio, and I got the job! Graduated May 2007, and work-study ended. As I write this, I'm aggressively searching for work with no luck. I've been offered less than what I made five years ago before getting my degree. They've GOT to be KIDDING!!! It's very frustrating. I attend a group every Monday for Unemployed Professionals to keep my spirits up. My last interviewer said that I was overqualified for their opening. In the meantime, I've applied at the LL Bean call center as a seasonal employee, but their training starts when I need to leave for Colorado. *sigh* I'm hoping the move will bring an awesome design job my way, since I'll be closer to two major cities rather than out in the sticks. But I WILL miss the woods and mountains of Maine. So it goes...
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