By RYAN CARR
Staff Writer
From the craft room to the classroom, one Guilderland native works day by day toward her dream of teaching, and paying her way through college to meet those goals. An employee at Michaels, a craft store in the Crossgates Commons, Cassie Jones is gathering new skills and experience through her time on the job. Working the weekends might not seem ideal to most, but Saturday mornings can feel rewarding when it is full of kids crafting and birthday parties. Jones works with children through showing them how to make certain crafts to having fun and making their time worthwhile.
“She is someone they can look up to because she has made and followed her goals and worked hard to get where she is, and continues to do so,” said Lita Fountain, a friend.
Jones was promoted from cashier to support specialist after only being on the job for six months. The new promotion involves dedication to the efficient and effective operation of the store’s administrative and support functions. With that promotion came a nice raise to $10.50 an hour.
“I’ve found that Cassie’s personality is really bubbly and fun, but also quite serious when it comes to work and when she’s talked about school,” said Jessica Szumowski, a manager at Michaels. Jones was astonished when the “craziest thing” happened at work: a lady came in and wanted to have herself giftwrapped for her boyfriend on Thanksgiving. Jones was shocked by the girl’s openness to talk about the subject and how easily she walked over to the gift wrap aisle.
The 20-year-old works from 18 to 24 hours a week while taking on 15 credits. “Even when work and school can become difficult and anxieties run high, she pushes through,” said Fountain. Jones turns to her passion for music to relieve some of that stress. A vocalist classically trained for the past seven years, Jones spends some of her downtime performing at open mics on and off campus. With the help of her boyfriend, who owns a recording studio, Jones hopes to record something of her own soon.
At 20, Jones is already looking toward her future. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Jones wants to get her master’s in education and her Ph.D. in psychology. In five years, she sees herself hopefully teaching inner-city children or teaching in another country for disadvantaged kids.
“My dream job is teaching and working for a non-profit. Anything that works with underprivileged children,” said Jones. In a world where some find difficulty in handling more than one task, Jones excels.
“She’s impacted my life by being a good friend, and a good person to turn to talk about more serious problems, which can be hard to find,” said Jessica Szumowski.
