Salamata Barry ‘23 is a Teacher Education minor from Dorchester, MA. After arriving in the United States she struggled with her classes due to a language barrier. A math teacher helped her in class and after school teaching her not only math but English: “Whenever I got to her class all those nerves went away. I always left her room feeling content…Her class was my safe place.” This experience is what drove her to become a teacher. She wants to guide her students like this teacher did for her.

Salamata has accepted a job teaching middle school math at Roxbury Prep Common School in Boston, MA this fall. As a first generation college graduate she hopes to be a role model for her students, showing that they too can go to college and become successful. 

Salamata is proud to be the first person from her family to graduate from college and is excited to see what comes next. “If you put your mind into something and work really hard on it you can definitely achieve it.”

Hannah Conkin ‘23 is an Educational Studies minor from Seattle, WA. When asked why she decided to become an Education Studies minor she said she was drawn to the community-engaged learning component with the focus on connecting and building relationships within the Lewiston-Auburn community.  Her experiences in education courses as well as her interactions outside of the classroom have given her a “passion for understanding how we can reform our public education system.”

During her senior year at Bates Hannah participated in the Restorative Practice Action and Advisory Group (RPAAG) in the Lewiston Public Schools as part of her Education Capstone. Time spent with the group allowed her to “listen and understand the concerns of students, educators, parents, and academics” and allowed her to see the “triumphs and difficulties of district-wide school reform specific to LPS.”

After graduation Hannah plans to live in Lewiston and continue her work with RPAAG as a project manager for a youth-led program.