Welcome to the fourth “spotlight” blog post featuring one of the student leaders of SEA & KDP at Governors State University!

   This week, our spotlight leader is:   
HAILEY CZERWINSKI
SEA Membership & Activities and KDP Treasurer

Hailey Czerwinski is a 21 year old student in the Early Childhood Education program with endorsements in Special Education and ESL at Governors State University. She aspires to teach kindergarten students when she graduates with her bachelors degree. 

One of her fondest memories at GSU is when she met Sandy the therapy dog in the library. At the time, Hailey was recovering from the loss of her own dog and was stressed with school and work. Also, she never knew why she kept getting so many emails about meeting the therapy dog. When she finally had the pleasure of making it’s acquaintance, Hailey claims that it was an amazing experience. She was given the opportunity to play with Sandy which really helped her relax and relieve some of her stress for the time being.

In her free time, Hailey simply loves to make things. She’s skilled at crocheting and painting. In addition, she enjoys anything involving arts and crafts because it helps her relax. On a perfect day, you may find Hailey curled up on her couch reading an adventurous story, solving a puzzle, or participating in an escape room. She loves any activity that challenges her mind! 

In the past, Hailey has had the opportunity to hold exotic animals, which she recommends everyone to try at least once. She has held six large Macaw Parrots (at one time), an albino python, and a spider monkey. She believes each and every one to be once in a lifetime experience. Due to her willingness to hold these animals, Hailey now has interesting stories to tell. For instance, as she was holding the Macaw Parrots, one of them decided to hold her braid in its beak. She has a picture of this occurrence and loves to share it with others. One day, she would love to go skydiving. Her boyfriend’s sister went a few years ago and Hailey was too scared to go. However, now, she’s determined to try it because of her desire to be adventurous. 

While at home, Hailey often watches the Harry Potter series whenever it’s playing on TV. She owns every DVD and book and claims that she can never get sick of them. She may also watch her favorite TV-show, The Big Bang Theory, while eating some sort of Italian dish involving pasta. Hailey can eat pasta for any meal of the day. The rooms in her house would either smell like citrus or a light base bleach cleaner, both of which she loves the scent of. 

Ever since she was little, Hailey had always been shy which prevented her from experiencing new things and being social. Most of the time, she would keep to herself and try not to draw too much attention. However, now, she is proud to say that she has overcome her shyness and it’s mainly due to her experiences at GSU. She lives by one of her favorite quotes, “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions” – Stephen Covey. She has made the decision not to let her shyness stop her from doing anything.

When she’s not attending class, Hailey’s probably working at her job as a teacher at a daycare. She runs the before and after school program where she helps 5-11 year old students with their homework and continue any reading or writing programs that they are involved in at school. This job opportunity certainly coincides with her career choice. While being a teacher suits her personality and skills, being a waitress surely doesn’t. If she was ever given the chance to pursue this job choice, Hailey believes she would be terrible at it because she’s very clumsy and she would end up dropping food all over her customers. Certainly, she wouldn’t last long as a waitress. Regardless, the movie title that would best describe her life is “Young Adult” because she’s slowly but surely becoming a young adult and taking on more and more responsibilities of an adult as she continues her education and contributes to the working world. 

If Hailey had to choose one thing she couldn’t live without, it would be her family and boyfriend’s family. On a daily basis, they motivate and push her to do better. Being around them makes her incredibly happy. Without a doubt, they encourage her to do things beyond what she ever thought she could or would ever do. In fact, she looks forward to spending time with both families over the holidays. Hailey believes this time of the year to be the one time where conflicts stop, everyone gathers, and is just happy to get together. 

The person that Hailey looks up to the most is her mother. Unfortunately, Hailey’s mother didn’t have a good childhood and didn’t complete high school. She was not encouraged to continue or finish her schooling, which she had a hard time performing well at. However, Hailey’s mother knew she had to get her GED and continue her education so she fought for years to finish school even though she struggled constantly. Finally, her mother obtained her GED. received her CNA license, and is currently working on her Phlebotomy licence. Hailey very much looks up to her mother because of her hard work, perseverance, and dedication. She admires the fact that her mother never let anyone tell her that she couldn’t do something.

In the next 10 years, Hailey is looking forward to starting her career as an early childhood teacher. In addition, she aspires to continue her education by getting a degree in social work. She wants to be able to help children both at an educational level and on levels where others cannot. Family matters and her current experiences in the ECE program have really influenced her to go forward with her education and to try her best to help children even more. 

Down the road, Hailey wants to be remembered for her organizational skills. It wasn’t until she attended high school that she became very organized with her school work and in her personal life. One of her teachers helped her become organized and gave her so many useful tools that she still uses to this day. She claims that organization is something that so many people struggle with and it’s an area that she would love to be able to help others with.

If you have any questions to ask Hailey or would simply like to share your thoughts, please use the comment section below. Thank you!

Information Provided by Hailey Czerwinski
Spotlight Post Written by Sireen Hamarshah