Last week, Centennial High School Alumnus Carl Bowman (2017) reached out to his favorite teacher, Mr. Palmieri, to thank him for the impact he made in preparing him to excel as a student in Laboratory Technology – Analytical Chemistry at Dawson College.
Hello Mr. Palmieri! Carl Bowman here. Long time no see!
I am here to let you know that I am doing well and miss having you as a teacher for Chemistry.
Ever since you taught me what the electron configuration meant on the periodic table, you have inspired me to deepen my understanding of chemistry to beyond the courses I had with you in High School.
I am now 20 years old and a second year (soon to be third year) student in Analytical Chemistry at Dawson College. I have decided to do my program in 4 years as I found the course load to be a bit heavy. The beginning of CEGEP was tough as I wasn’t used to lectures and having to write so many notes! On the very first day of CEGEP, I got lost trying to find the room where the general chemistry class was. As the teacher introduced himself and immediately started the lecture, I was starting to panic as I didn’t know what to do. Using some of the strategies I learned at Centennial, I have adapted well to how CEGEP works and I push myself to do the best that I can. I’ve succeeded better than I ever thought!
I wrote the Organic Chemistry final today. It was challenging but I think I really did well. There were 15 questions consisting of multiple choice, short answer, and of course reaction mechanisms. I came into the final with a 95% overall average after 7 mini tests! In the last 2 mini tests, I received 100%! The teacher congratulated me on a great job, said that I am a good chemist and encouraged me to continue what I am doing.
This summer, I have a mandatory internship requirement in my program. The Department Chair sent my CV to a company called McAuslan Brewery. I got a call before one of my classes and we scheduled an interview earlier this month. I worked hard to prepare for the interview and in the end, the interview went very well. I managed to ask some great questions and answered all of the questions they asked. I also provided them with my grades and transcript, as well as a copy of my updated CV. The very next day, I received a call from the employer. They asked me if I was interested in working for them, I happily said YES! So, I will be working at McAuslan Brewery in quality control. I am so excited to apply what I have learned at school to the real working world.
To sum up, I really enjoy my program at Dawson College. I have noticed that I have built a lot of confidence over the last 2 years, and I have been thinking about what you taught me since day one.
I hope you are doing well and you are having a great time teaching the grade 11 students chemistry and enjoy teaching it.
Take care,
– Carl Bowman