I have procrastinated writing this Spotlight for longer than any of you may realize (well, Michael knows…), but finally I have started. I was insecure and quiet in high school, so it’s possible that you don’t even know me. So I’d like to use this Spotlight as a way of re-introducing myself to you.

My name is Cindy and we didn’t grow up together. Before Livingston, I lived in Teaneck, New Jersey with my parents and three younger brothers (Marc, Barry and Ken). Everything was normal in my little girl life until it wasn’t. When I was seven my parents divorced (unusual for the time). In response, my mother got a job (another anomaly) and live-in help moved into our house to watch my toddler brothers. Also, the boys and I began going to my dad’s house every weekend…the one with my new stepmother and little stepsister. All of these out-of-the-norm experiences contributed to my shyness, although our lives did settle into a normal rhythm. Then lifestyle changes happened again for my family at the end of 8th grade. In May, my stepmom brought a half-sister into our family and at the same time, my mother announced that we were moving closer to her job (in Millburn). I was thrilled about the baby but terrified of the move.

I moved to Livingston a week before 9th grade started with my mother and three brothers. I went to Heritage Junior High and was quickly befriended by Grace Bartolo and Pat Wydra. They welcomed this awkward new girl to Livingston with open arms and we became besties. The trips to my dad’s house in Bergen County were still weekly, but the drive was now 30 minutes longer. It was difficult to make weekend plans with my new friends because I spent so much time away from Livingston. I regularly missed out on LHS football games, parties and other events. Truthfully, even when I was present, I felt my shyness made me somewhat invisible. Maybe this is why we never met.

After graduation from high school, I went to the University of Pittsburgh, with my studies focused on Speech and Hearing Sciences, Psychology and Biology. I enjoyed working with young children, so maybe I would become a speech therapist. Or a teacher. Or something in the medical field. Or an architect. Clearly, I wasn’t ready to make a career decision yet, so I stopped worrying about what was next and started to enjoy myself, away from my family responsibilities. At Pitt, I became a “little sister” in the ZBT fraternity…this was less of a commitment than joining a sorority and certainly less costly. I volunteered in a school for the deaf and at Magee Women’s Hospital. I went to concerts, parties and Rocky Horror Picture Show (countless times). I took road trips to Memphis, Washington DC and the homes of many western Pennsylvania friends.

Back in Livingston for the summers, I worked as a waitress at Don’s, took day trips to the shore and went to Cosmos soccer games at the Meadowlands. I bought records at the mall and spent late nights dancing to the music of tribute bands in bars with sticky floors. Life was good. My mom remarried during my junior year and the family moved to Springfield. But I had a car now, so my social life was no longer compromised. I still saw my dad (and family) regularly, but now I was the driver and could plan our visits according to my schedule.

During my senior year of college, I began dating Michael (Mike) Becker and by the spring, we were falling in love. Upon graduation from Pitt, I did not pursue the masters degree and clinical hours needed to become a licensed SLP. Instead, I began a year-long program at St. Barnabas Medical Center in their allied health program. My boyfriend Mike began his first year at Rutgers Law School (in Camden). During the day I did classes and clinical work in respiratory therapy and in the evenings, I worked at Don’s. I drove to Collingswood every Friday afternoon to spend weekends with Mike. We explored the South Jersey area (new to both of us) and nearby Philadelphia.

When I finished my St. Barnabas program in August 1982, I was a certified respiratory therapy technician. I moved into Mike’s Collingswood apartment and was hired by the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). I worked the night shift, mostly giving breathing treatments to elderly men with COPD. I enjoyed working but struggled with night shift. After about a year, I was moved to the evening shift and I worked in the Intensive Care Nursery. In this position, I did regular ventilator checks on the premies, assisted nurses and I cuddled babies who were able to come out of their incubators. During that time, Mike and I were married and bought a condo.

In 1986, I was hired by the Nutrition Support Service (NSS) as their Metabolic Testing Specialist. The NSS at HUP was an interdisciplinary team, comprised of surgeons and surgical residents, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, dietitians, data coordinators, an education coordinator (my direct supervisor), secretaries and me. I operated a specialized breathing device called an indirect calorimeter. By collecting a person’s exhaled volume of air for about 15 minutes, I was able to calculate their Resting Energy Expenditure (similar to BMR). Our patients were usually very ill and receiving intravenous nutrition or tube feedings. In order to prevent over- or under-feeding, our team relied on the data I provided to calculate individual caloric requirements. Our Nutrition Support team was a leader in the field of clinical nutrition and one of the only hospitals to use the indirect calorimeter in true clinical situations. Consequently, I was invited to speak at many medical conferences to share details about running the metabolic lab, the ease of operating this machine throughout the hospital and our required steps to ensure reliability and reproducible data. I loved traveling around the country every few months to do one of these talks, but the daily job felt limiting to me.

I enjoyed the drama of the hospital and loved the team I worked with but I wanted more opportunity for creativity in my life and was ready to consider more schooling at this point. While working at HUP, I took some masters level speech pathology classes at Trenton State (now College of NJ). I did well in the classes but would need to matriculate as a full-time student to continue that degree. At that point, I decided that speech pathology was not the right profession for me because “I want to be the classroom teacher who is with the students all day… not the teacher who does pull-out once a week”.

Another year or two passed, and this time I matriculated into a post- baccalaureate teacher certification program at Glassboro State (now Rowan University). My son Benjamin was born in 1989, just as I was ready to complete the program. I was thrilled! I finally had a baby of my own and he was beautiful and healthy. I only needed a semester of student teaching and then I could find a job as a kindergarten or first grade teacher. It seemed like a great plan to me, but Mike didn’t like it. He discouraged me from the student teaching because it would require us to pay for childcare without me bringing in an income. I passed up the student teaching opportunity and continued to run the metabolic lab at HUP. GRRR…I am not a person to think a lot about regrets but I do wish I had insisted on those four months without an income.

We moved into a single-family home in Cherry Hill when Benji was a year old and I began making plans to run a daycare from my home. This way, I could be a stay-at-home mom, continue to make an income and work with young children. I ran Cindy’s House Family Daycare program from 1992-2002. I was licensed with the state, participated in the state food program and had a waiting list to fill open spots. I worked closely with my sponsoring agency and led workshops on Developmentally Appropriate Practices to other providers. I loved the constant flow of children (and their families) in and out of our house, but my husband did not enjoy this at all. We divorced when our son was 6.

No longer married, I went on lots of blind dates but rarely stuck with anyone very long. I started doing yoga and began hosting a yoga class in my house. Every Tuesday night for nearly 20 years, a yoga instructor led a 90-min class. It only ended when I sold my house in 2015. Other things I did in my free time during my 30s and 40s were mostly involved with parenting: being involved in the PTA, watching lots of baseball and soccer games, etc. While I ran the daycare, Ben and I were able afford a vacation each year. Sometimes it was the beach and other times it was Mexico, Punta Cana, California, Jamaica, Disney World, Lake Tahoe, Poconos. I was active in the Philadelphia Book and Cook annual events that took place in the 90s. My daycare business continued to thrive but I started needing more financial security and wanting more adult contact. In early 2002, I used the Alternate Route to get a Teaching Certificate of Eligibility in Preschool thru Grade 3. To get the Standard P-3 teaching certificate, I would need to get a teaching job (while being mentored and paid) for a year and take a pedagogy of early childhood classes offered by Montclair State.

IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING!! I began my classroom teacher career in October 2002 as a preschool teacher in Camden, NJ. As thrilled as I was to be in the job I had wanted for most of my life, my salary decreased by $20,000 when I went from self-employed daycare provider to certified public school teacher. GULP! Just like that, Ben and I were done taking vacations. I learned to live on a budget, took a second job, worked summers and we managed.

Despite the salary, I adored my job and got my masters in Curriculum and Instruction. I thought I might want to work for the state department of education, but I really loved being in the classroom. I was identified as a model classroom teacher in my district for Dual Language Learners and I wrote an article on classroom strategies to support dual language learners in 2009. The article was published by the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in their professional journal, Young Children. I was on a committee that helped the early childhood department select a new preschool curriculum and then I helped facilitate the workshops to teach staff how to use the online component. well, I was an active board member in my local NAEYC chapter for about 10 years.

And finally, we come to present day. The school where I have been since 2009 is a public school in Camden, composed of 30 preschool classrooms and 5 kindergarten classes. I am on the principal’s leadership team and a cohort lead. I also mentor new staff and participate in all sorts of committees and volunteer activities. However, mostly, I am still a classroom teacher of 3-, 4- and 5-year-old students and that’s what makes me happiest. I am grateful to booksmiles.org and donorschoose.com for helping me make my classroom an engaging place to learn. Currently, I am planning to retire in June 2028.

Four years ago, I bought a condo in an adult community and my mother moved in with me. When I am not chauffeuring or cooking dinner for mom, I try to find time for my friends. We like to hike, dine out and visit local dispensaries. And in the last year, I also feel the need to march in No Kings Rallies. When I am alone, I build Lego kits and watercolor paint, my two newest hobbies. In the summer, I am finally able to travel. Last year I spent time in London and Amsterdam, then took a cruise through the Norwegian Fjords. This summer I plan to visit Spain. Finally, my son Ben and Chelsea were married in February. I am thrilled for both of them and filled with joy that they have made this commitment.

Thank you to Michael for arranging these Spotlights for LHS Class of 77 and inviting me to share my life with you. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you at our 50th reunion.

For those who live in the South Jersey area, BookSmiles accepts all book donations. As well, they accept monetary donations. www.booksmiles.org

Donors Choose provides a site where public school teachers can set up a project with items they would like to add to their classroom and donors contribute. All donations are tax-deductible. You can view the current project I am hoping to fund at:
https://www.donorschoose.org/project/staying-cozy-this-winter/10047520/

I can be reached at cindybeckerteaches@gmail.com or 609-304-8680.