Bryn Athyn College Alumni Magazine Spring/Summer 2017 | Page 7

THE CLASS OF 2017
For other graduating students, time at
the College helped them refine their goals.
For example, Kristina Clark came to school
with the goal of “succeeding on the basket-
ball court and getting a decent job after col-
lege.” After taking her first psychology class,
however, Kristina felt inspired to forge a path
in that field. Kristina explained, “Through
my years at the College, I’ve learned that even
in my many failures there are valuable les-
sons I can learn. I now define success differ-
ently. My main goal in life has become help-
ing others better understand their mistakes
and how they can prosper. That’s why I want
to work with people who have addictions; it
is empowering knowing that I can help some-
one change their life.”
Kristina particularly appreciated her
Kyle Jennings
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Saryluz Ramos
BA, Early Childhood Education
SARYLUZ RAMOS had a life-
changing experience when she was
in the first grade. She recalled, “A
new student from Puerto Rico came
into our class, and he only spoke
Spanish. The teacher asked if any of
us knew how to speak his language,
and I was the only one who raised
my hand. I felt so special because I
was able to help this boy do better
in class and begin to learn English.” 
Today, one of Saryluz’s main life
goals involves helping children who
don’t speak English as their first
language “find a place where they
belong – in school, at home, and in
their community.” She explained, “I
want children who come from non-
English speaking countries to learn
as much as everyone else does.
I want them to feel comfortable
around their teachers and peers.”
Soon after beginning her studies
at Bryn Athyn College, Saryluz felt
confident that she had found the
right environment to help her reach
her educational goals. She said,
“I appreciated how the College
faculty allowed us to express our
thoughts and feelings about our
coursework, and to make sugges-
tions of what kind of exposure and
classes we wanted.” She added,
“Every faculty member that I worked
with always wanted to know how I
was doing and what they could do
to make my experience better.”
At one point in her college career,
Saryluz had a serious concus-
sion that caused her to drop a
class. She said, “One of my teach-
ers worked one-on-one with me
outside of class time to help me
catch up. We would meet in the
early morning and sometimes in
the afternoon so that I could finish
my courses and graduate on time.”
For the past few months, Saryluz
has been working as a part-time
Spanish teacher for the 7th and
8th graders at the Bryn Athyn
Church School. With her hard-
earned early childhood education
diploma now in hand, she plans
to continue this teaching job and
begin looking into ESL certifica-
tion. She said, “By becoming an
ESL teacher, or even a coordinator,
I can help international students
receive the time and practice they
need in order to learn in school.”
B RY N AT H Y N A LU M N I M AG A Z I N E
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