Five years old.
That was her age when Maddy Frascogna decided she wanted to attend St. Joseph’s University, New York.
“All my favorite teachers and role models were St. Joseph’s graduates,” said Frascogna, who is now a junior majoring in mathematics and computer science with a concentration in adolescence education at the Long Island Campus.
Now, the two-time SGA president will forever be ingrained in the history of the University.
“The Student Center ribbon cutting ceremony might be one of my favorite moments from my time here so far,” said Frascogna, who plans to run again for the position of SGA president this spring. “It was such a cool moment to be a part of.”
A Passion for Education
It was right around the same time as deciding she would attend SJNY that Frascogna decided she wanted to become an educator.
“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “When I was little, I had a whole classroom set up at home. I had a whiteboard, projector, dolls posed as my students. You name it, I had it.”
Growing up seeing her father as a math-turned-physical education teacher at the Patchogue-Medford School District, where she also attended, played a big role in Frascogna’s own interest in becoming an educator.
“He has such a big heart,” she said of her father, who also coached varsity baseball — with many of his students going on to play at St. Joe’s. “He always went the extra mile for his students. Being able to see how much he made an impact in so many different people’s lives further drove my passion to want to be a teacher.”
After she graduates from St. Joseph’s, Frascogna hopes to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a math teacher.
“I’ll be certified in middle school and high school, in both computer science and math,” she explained. “Honestly, I’d be happy to teach anywhere. But if I got to pick, I’d like to end up in a middle school. Preferably Miller Place, where I did observations, or Pat-Med. I’d love to go back and teach there.”
Becoming Her Own Person
Frascogna shared that the biggest hurdle she’s had to overcome in academia so far has been gaining her own identity.
“I went to school where my dad was a teacher,” she explained. “That became my identity. I was his daughter. Everyone who met me in high school, and even my friends, would always associate me with my dad. I had to work twice as hard as my classmates to be able to create my own identity as a student.”
At St. Joseph’s, though, she quickly overcame that hurdle.
“Coming here, it was a new sense of freedom,” said Frascogna, who graduated from Patchogue-Medford High School in 2021. “I’ve been stronger because of my experience, and I think how I grew from it has positively impacted the things I’m able to do today.”
In addition to being the SGA president, Frascogna is also the founder and a member of SJNY’s Circle K International chapter, she’s an Orientation Team Leader, and she serves on various committees.
Inspired By the SGA
While many people at SJNY have helped shape Frascogna into who she is today, she wanted to call out one special group of individuals that has had a big impact on her.
“I’ve met a lot of people that have inspired me in a lot of different ways in my time here, but I think my fellow SGA members this year have been the most impactful,” said Frascogna, who also served as student government president and national honor society president as well as secretary of her graduating class in high school.
“We work so well as a team, and they have pushed me to new heights as a leader,” she continued. “We’re able to challenge each other and work with each other in a way that has caused me to gain so much from this experience that I wouldn’t have been able to gain anywhere else.”
