“There’s nothing to be scared of.” That’s the advice alumnus Armand Klisivitch ’08 would give to Parkside’s eldest students as they prepare for the next phase of their education.
“Everything I learned at Parkside prepared me for the journey ahead. We all face challenges, but the skills and independence I learned at Parkside help me overcome them without a problem.”
While he doesn’t recall many of the details of his earliest days as a student at Parkside, Armand remembers an overall environment shaped by kindness and support that allowed him to discover his passion for math, build confidence, and lay the foundation for his interest in sports… not to mention his love for the game of Scrabble. He recalls the “you can do it” attitude of Mr. Vargas and Mr. Cruz, saying, “they were really my role models throughout my years at Parkside.”
After leaving Parkside, Armand attended The Community School in Teaneck, New Jersey. He found the transition to middle school fairly easy, because there were a number of other students from Parkside who went on to the same school and he was able to keep in touch with his elementary school friends.
During his sophomore year in high school, Armand joined the soccer team and landed a starting role his first year on the team. By his senior year, he was playing forward, and led his team through an almost undefeated season. Having never played soccer before, he is most proud of his accomplishments on the field, and the bonds he made with his teammates. He also played basketball and baseball throughout his high school career.
Now a sophomore at Castleton University in Vermont, Armand is about to declare a major in Business with a minor in Sports Administration. In his free time, he hosts a show on Facebook Live called Hab Opinion. Last summer he completed an internship with the Rockland Boulders, a baseball team of the independent Can-Am League in Pomona, New York. He credits the internship for his interest in sports management, and enjoyed his role as a promotions intern because of the opportunity it gave him to interact with the crowd and the team. He hopes to build a career as a sports administrator after graduation in three years.
One of his best memories of Parkside – and one that his parents often remind him about – is of the seniors group, where teachers and students would talk openly about the transition from elementary to middle school, and the challenges and opportunities they would face. “It’s part of why I have such positive feelings about Parkside...” noting that he smiled when he received a birthday card from Ms. Miller and Ms. Thorne, “the lessons I learned at Parkside were really the stepping stones for everything that followed.”