Younger Glimpses of Palisades

The Next Step After Tappan Zee High School

There’s a minority in Palisades that few people talk about, but everyone sees. They are the young adults: not quite in the clutches of the real world, but out of the public school systems of Rockland and attempting to find their places in the world. Some have stayed local, while others are attempting, or have already gone, across the country. Some know exactly what they plan to do, while others are still trying things to find their niche. While such a busy and diverse group of people were difficult to get a hold of, five took the time to report on how they plan to tackle the world head on.

Allison O’Connor graduated from Tappan Zee High School in 2006 and is still attending Boston College in Massachusetts. She’s been studying Communications and Education and hopes to dabble in both sometime in the future. Local residents can find her working as a lifeguard at the Palisades Swim Club during the summer.

Samantha Hirsch graduated from Tappan Zee High School in 2007 and currently attends American University. While her plans could change, she has decided on studying Statistics while earning a minor degree in Biology. Sammy hopes to be working for the National Center for Health Statistics in Maryland. She can also be found working at the Palisades Swim Club as a lifeguard.

Katie Rosenwasser has graduated from Tappan Zee in 2003 as well as Duke University in May of 2007. After finishing with majors in English and Biology, she has moved to San Francisco, California to work at Google in their Online Sales and Operations division as an Associate for AdSense, an advertising division. Her long term goals, however, remain to attend medical school and become a physician.

Jaime Verdigi is a senior at Pace University and graduated from Tappan Zee High School in 2004. She will be graduating in May with degrees in Modern Romance Languages. Jaime has become fluent in Italian after a summer course in Italy and is already learning Spanish. She plans to go to graduate school so she can continue to learn as well as begin to teach Italian.

Greg Capazzuto graduated from Tappan Zee High School in 2002 as well as St. Thomas Aquinas College this past year with a Master’s degree in Science in Teaching. Greg has stayed local, substitute teaching in local schools like TZHS and plans on getting a teaching job locally as well.

Even though there are only five names listed, there are still many others from Palisades who have gone on to find success, and many more who are even younger and just starting to find their footing in the world. We can hope that everyone who leaves can tell others of their accomplishments and where they come from with pride.