December’s Center Spotlight shines on a few of our student workers we will be saying goodbye to this upcoming semester. December graduates, those beginning student teaching, and some moving on to higher educational programs! We are so proud of all their years of hard academic work and it has finally paid off! We will miss seeing them at the center everyday and wish them the best of luck in the future.

Graduates: Kirby Baber, Maria Cos, Dominique Hunt, and Savannah Mendive

Farewells: Chung Na Eum, Stephanie Halsey, Sarah Kirby, Leanna McTaggert, and Katie Swoboda.

A few of our student workers were able to share some of their favorite moments from their time at BGCC. Stephanie Halsey has worked at the center for the last 2 and a half years. “My favorite part about working at the center for so long has been watching the kids grow up. It is so rewarding! I will miss seeing the kids get excited about random little things. They have easily been the best part of this job. ” Stephanie will be leaving the center to begin teaching 4th grade while she gets her masters from TAMU. In April, she will be apart of the Disney College Program at Disney Word in Florida. We are so excited to watch Stephanie through this next exciting phase of her life.

Another student worker we will say our goodbye to is our front desk student worker Sarah Kirby, she has worked at the center for over 3 years. “My favorite memory from BGCC was the preschool performance of “I’m a Little Aggie.” I had heard them singing it countless times to practice and I was so proud watching them perform it on stage in front of so many people.” Sarah will be graduating in May of 2022, but for the upcoming Spring semester she will be studying for the CPA exam. When asked what she will miss most about BGCC, she said “The people for sure! The kids, teachers, administration, families, and coworkers have all made this job an incredible experience and I will miss it!” Sarah plans to move to Houston after she graduates and work for a PwC as a Tax Associate. We are so proud of Sarah and will greatly miss her presence at the center.

Katelyn Swoboda will be leaving after this semester to begin her clinical teaching and after she graduates in May she will begin teaching elementary school. She has worked at the center for the last two years and her favorite memory was “one day this past summer when we got Kona ice. The kids were so excited and it was such a joy to watch their excitement.” “The thing I am going to miss the most is the relationships I have built at BGCC! I will miss the smiling kids faces everyday. I will miss Mrs. Kay being such a role model. I will miss all the staff, who were always so kind.” We wish the best of luck to Katelyn and know she will be an amazing teacher.

Finally, Leana McTaggart shared some of her memories from BGCC. Leana has worked at the center for the last two years and she will mostly miss “the kids, and their funny sayings.” Leana will begin her student teaching next semester and upon graduation move back to Fort Worth to teach middle school math.

We are so proud of all our student workers and their academic success. We wish them the best of luck in their next steps in life. Our student workers play such a huge role at the center and create strong relationships among the staff and students. We will miss having them at the center every day, but they will always be a part of the Becky Gates Children’s Center family!