Student Spotlight- Patricia Gresco

My name is Patricia Gresco and I am a double major in math and secondary education. My desire to be a teacher stems from my love for helping and teaching others. I am the oldest of six children so I have a naturally nurturing and caring personality. My passion and love for teaching grew deeper when last year, as a sophomore, I participated in service learning. Every week I attended Alexander K. McClure Elementary School in the heart of North Philadelphia. I was placed in a first-grade classroom where I met some of the most remarkable students, and had life changing experiences and realizations. I realized how privileged I was growing up in a school district that always had enough resources for me. Each week that I went, I heard about the students’ day to day struggles both in school and at home. I knew that I wanted to help these students in whatever way I could so that they too could have a shot to attend a college or university like Villanova, and make their way out of the inner city. I made it my goal to become a teacher in an urban area after college so that I could help students reach their full potentials. No child’s education should have to suffer just because of their socioeconomic status. Every child needs someone to believe in them, and that can be me. I am equipped with the resources to help these students succeed and I must now share them. In order to make this dream a reality, I work with children all summer long at my local YMCA summer camp. In doing so, I am enhancing my communication and leadership skills all while learning how to be more self-aware and self-regulated, two key components for teacher leadership.

At Villanova, I am a member of Special Olympics Fall Festival Committee and serve as the Local Program Host (LPH) assistant. This means that I, along with two other committee members, oversee a group of one-hundred freshman who act as liaisons between the Special Olympics athletes and the Villanova community. Fall Fest is my absolute favorite weekend and event on campus because the joy and love that radiates through Villanova’s campus is electric. The smiles and laughs that are shared with the athletes are contagious. The number of hugs I receive that weekend are more than I receive in a whole year. The memories that I make with the athletes last a lifetime. I love cheering the athletes on whether win or lose, I am just honored to be there to share in that moment with them.