A Connection that Changed Me

I met my friend Dawn when she was appointed assistant principal at the school where I worked. We hit it off immediately. I was a school counselor, and she was my immediate supervisor. She was tasked with creating the master schedule for the coming school year and asked me if I would help her. Neither of us had ever done this before, but we figured we were intelligent people, and if the men who had preceded her could do it, we could certainly figure it out. It was the blind leading the blind. But with much trial and error we indeed figured it out, and we did that together for the next 7 years until we both left to work in Delaware County, PA. She was a wonderful mentor for me, and I grew in skills and confidence during our time at Howard High School. She advocated for me when I applied for a job at Springfield High School in Delaware County, a job I ultimately got in part due to the fact that I could create a master schedule. I am forever grateful to her for her mentorship, and most importantly, her friendship.

When we both retired, Dawn and her husband purchased a garden center which he asked her to manage. She told her husband that she would only do it if I would work with her. Again, neither of us had ever managed a garden center, or any other kind of center for that matter, but like with the master schedule, we figured if men could do it so could we. We both learned so much about managing a retail shop, about plants and trees and soil and pest control and customer service. We were extremely successful, I think in part because of the relationships we fostered with our customers and staff. I learned things with Dawn that I never thought I would, and I am forever grateful that we were paired together all those years ago. It’s a relationship that helped us both professionally and personally.

My life would have been very different had it not been for Dawn. I consider her assignment to Howard as serendipitous and life changing. I learned things that have served me well these last 36 years, and I thank my lucky stars for putting us together.

Jaye Pedante is a retired educator and currently a Board Member on the Team Cure Cholangio charitable organization, raising funds to support research into
effective treatments for cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer of the
liver. A Great Dame since the beginning and a warrior battling cholangiocarcinoma since January 2022 and who is currently doing well.