Miss Exeter 2016-2017
Samantha Mackes
PLATFORM: Fight for their Dreams: Nurturing their Future
TALENT: Tap Dance
SCHOOL: Simmons College
Samantha Mackes
PLATFORM: Fight for their Dreams: Nurturing their Future
TALENT: Tap Dance
SCHOOL: Simmons College
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How would you define success?
I feel that if you’re happy, you’re successful. It’s not always about having the best grades or the best job; it’s about what makes you happy. You are the one who is living your life, so you are the one who gets to say if you are successful. What is your major in college and what interests you most in school?
I am currently working on a dual Bachelors and Masters program. This means that I am working on them at the same time! My Bachelors is in Psychology with a minor in Social Work. My Masters is a little different: I am actually getting a dual Masters in Elementary Education and Special Education. I will get my Bachelors in May, and my Masters in May of 2018. My 1 full Masters year is actually just student teaching! All in all, by the time I am 22 I will have 3 degrees. I am most interested in seeing the connections between each path I have chosen to take. Having the social work background really helps me to understand the situations children in the classroom are in, and the psychology helps me to understand the minds of the children. Seeing everything come together really makes it worth it! What has been your greatest experience?
My greatest experience was traveling to South Africa and Swaziland to volunteer in the orphanage and to work on the HIV/AIDs epidemic. While at the orphanage in Swaziland, we built a library, planted a garden, repaired clothes, cleaned, and spent time working with the kids. It was so amazing to see the difference we were making and to know that we were leaving a long-term imprint. The kids were absolutely amazing and had such full spirits. Each of the kids was in the orphanage because they had lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS, or they themselves had the disease. We also volunteered with the HIV/AIDs coalition in South Africa to help spread awareness. It truly was something I will remember forever. What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
History was never my strong suit in school, but I love to study the Holocaust. There is SO much to learn from it and about it. This past May, I was one of 25 people from across the country to attend the Warren Fellowship for Future Teachers in Houston, TX. This fellowship teaches about the Holocaust and other genocides around the world. I learned so much new information that I wouldn’t have discovered other wise, obtained many resources to use in the classroom in the future, and met many survivors of the Holocaust. |
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