Celia Fogel ’08

I was a proud Paideia student and a proud Engineering Academy dropout. I exclusively took 5th period P.E. so I didn’t have to swim. I had wonderful Teach for America teachers who made me passionate about subjects I didn’t think I cared about. I got to experience TryUMF (Trying to Uplift My Folks, a program run by Derrick Smith) and the difficulties of questioning my role within my community. I expressed my creativity in a small piano practice room on piano keys that were painted with whiteout. I walked the Paramount Theater stage in a gold robe with little idea of where my life was headed, but with the comfort of knowing that my previous four years at Tech had in some way or another prepared me for what might hit me in the face.

I found myself involved in theater production in college. This past fall, I returned to Tech to help Casey Fern with his Tech Techies, specifically by guiding students through the process of stage management. The Oakland Tech theater is a place that didn’t exist for me in high school and I’m glad to get to know it now.