Putnam Vocational Technical Academy alumni share their reflections on their vocational education and what it has meant to them.
Melquawn Pinkney is a member of the Class of 2012 at Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy; he is weighing a decision between attending the University of New Haven and Mount Ida College.SPRINGFIELD - Everyone’s high school journey is unique. In the future, I will reflect on these years and use the lessons I have learned to be an upstanding family man and contributing member of my community.
When I first started high school, I was young and naive, but I knew Roger L. Putnam was my school of choice.
As a vocational school, Putnam has had a unique and positive impact on my life. My responsibility didn’t end in the classroom. The opportunity to learn hands-on provided me with valuable lessons and a perspective that helped me decide my future.
My decision is to go on to college, and I am grateful to the administrators, teachers and friends who, whether they realize it or not, helped influence my decision.
At Putnam, I was pushed to work hard, do my best and take on leadership roles. During my years at the school, I reaped the rewards of my hard work, both academically and athletically.
I was proud of my increasing academic ability, and, in my senior year, I was selected as student leader. Athletically, our football team (with a 12-1 record) earned the title of Super Bowl champions in my senior year.
I am especially proud to have personally broken school and city-wide football records to earn the prestigious Norman S. Dagenais award (which was established to honor Western Massachusetts’ most outstanding player). I believe that through my Putnam experience, I have become a role model to many youth, and that inspires me to pursue excellence in all that I do.
I will continue to focus on my dream of playing in the NFL, but, just as strongly, I will hold on to the belief that attending college will allow me to achieve ultimate success - earning a college degree.
Putnam has made it possible for me to keep that dream alive. It will forever be a place that I think of as home.