By Rachel M. Bolton
Managing Editor
It’s time to say goodbye to the Chronicle’s Executive Editor Sunshine Osella. Her time as an undergrad at Saint Rose is at an end, and she will be graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education.
Osella is originally from Lexington, Virginia, and found the College through a website. After visiting Saint Rose during her junior year of high school, she said, “[I] immediately knew it was the place for me. Everyone was so welcoming and the campus was beautiful.”
Her favorite class while at Saint Rose was Infant, Toddler and Preschool Education. According to Osella, her wonderful classmates and Professor, Cecile Gleason, were what made the class stand out among the many she has taken. The class also gave her a chance to complete field placement in both a toddler and preschool classroom, her two favorite age groups.
Osella said that the best thing that she did in college was participating in the Chronicle. She said, “It is a great group of people and journalism is something I am passionate about. There is a certain beauty in collecting important information and organizing it to share with a community.”
Along with the Chronicle, Osella participated in numerous other clubs. She was in Catholic Service Club when it was active on campus. She also led a group during her sophomore and junior years to a local homeless shelter. This experience included organizing activities and crafts for children living at the shelter. During her sophomore year she participated in the service trip to Washington D.C. over winter break.
Osella said that her work study positions played an important role in her experience at the college. Osella worked in the counseling center for her first three years and said that the people she worked with were, “a talented and kind group of individuals.” Due to her student teaching schedule, Osella said, “I moved to the Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary for my Senior year which was just as wonderful of an experience.”
When asked what the biggest lesson she learned in college was, Osella said, “If there is one time in your life when it is okay to be involved with 50 things at once, it’s during college. College gives you an opportunity to stretch yourself thin, but in a good way. I also believe I learned that it is important to appreciate the little things of every aspect of college.”
Her advice to freshmen is that college will change your life “if you do things you love and take nothing for granted.”
As for her postgraduate plans, Osella is happy to say that she will be starting a job as an assistant preschool teacher in Guilderland. She will also be remaining at Saint Rose as a graduate student studying curriculum and instruction this fall.
As she graduates, she would like to thank her professors, the Chronicle staff especially Co-Executive Editor Jackson Wang, and adviser Cailin Brown for all of their help and support.
I am happy that I got to meet Sunshine during my two years on the Chronicle. She will be missed. All of us here at the paper wish her the best of luck.
