In this episode, Iqra Sheik, from the OpenLab team, interviews Lucas Wissell, a secondary education major at BMCC. Lucas shares about his nonlinear journey toward his passion, and how he ended up choosing a career in education.
Lucas Wissell Interview
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Transcripts:
IQRA:
HELLO EVERYONE AND WELCOME BACK TO THE BMCC OPENLAB STUDENT VOICES PODCAST. I’M YOUR HOST, IQRA SHEIKH AND TODAY WE’RE TALKING TO LUCAS WISSELL, A SECONDARY EDUCATION MAJOR AT BMCC. IN THIS EPISODE, HE WILL SHARE HIS NONLINEAR JOURNEY TOWARD HIS PASSION, AND HOW HE ENDED UP CHOOSING A CAREER IN EDUCATION. LET’S LISTEN TO HIS STORY.
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Iqra: Hi, my name is Iqra and I am here with the Open Lab for Students Voices and today’s guest is…
Lucas: Hey, everybody. My name is Lucas. I’m a secondary education major at BMCC transferring to Hunter next semester.
Iqra: Wow. Hunter. Big stuff. I also went to Hunter after BMCC. So, we’re going to start off with what’s your major.
Lucas: Yes, yes. So, secondary education in social studies to be precise. So, I’ve taken a few education courses some history courses and have an interest in literature at the moment. It’s something that’s really changed the game for me and really broadened my horizons and opened me up to actually changing my major from what I started here at.
Iqra: Oh, so when you go to Hunter, what are you going to major in?
Lucas: Education.
Iqra: Right.
Lucas: So, but when I started here at BMCC. I started with this program called Year Up. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that.
iqra: I’ve heard of Year Up.
Lucas: And that’s actually the reason why I came to BMCC was because I needed to be in a college setting to get an internship through this program. I never had any plans to go to college. I just needed a job.
Iqra: I was the same way.
Lucas: Yeah?
Iqra: Yeah. I moved out at 17 and I was just, you know, I mean, I was a waitress. I was like, okay, this is my life. But something in me just kept saying, go to school. So, I went to school. I did night classes here at BMCC.
Lucas: Oh, wow. That’s interesting. I can relate. I also moved out at 17 right when I got out of high school. And I was a mechanic. I was working at bike shops and then working in a kitchen at nights as a line cook. And I never wanted to go back to school.
Iqra: Really?
Lucas: So, that’s where we differ. Yeah, I never wanted to go back to school. I hated high school so much. It was absolutely awful. I barely made it through. And it wasn’t until I saw all my friends succeeding and getting these corporate jobs and going places and getting real apartments and not just living in some room in somebody else’s apartment.
Iqra: No, no. That’s your success too.
Lucas: Of course. Well, thank you.
Iqra: Yes. This is because the route you took, that’s not a common one. So, it’s ten times harder to like navigate that.
Lucas: It certainly felt that way.
Iqra: And to be here right now, you have overcame stuff that your friends don’t even know how to navigate. But you learned the skills to navigate that.
Lucas: Wow. Thank you, Iqra.
Iqra: So, you need to give yourself more credit.
Lucas: Okay. All right, Lucas. Give yourself some credit. I’m going to give myself a pat on the back right now. Thank you.
Iqra: So how did you hear about Year Up?
Lucas: I had a friend who did the Year Up program a few years ago. He got an internship at Bank of America. And he’s been there for like five years now. He’s got a good salary. He’s got an apartment. His girl moved in together. And frankly, I was a little jealous.
Iqra: So he told you about Year Up?
Lucas: He told me about Year Up. I applied. They said, if you want to be in the business program, working with people and communications and things like that, you need to be taking business classes at a college. So BMCC was my next stop. Signed up for classes here under the Small Business Entrepreneurship major. And that was it. I started taking classes. And I realized, like, oh, if I put my mind to it, I can do this. And I started to love it.
Iqra: Okay. Cool. Well, so now when you go to Hunter, you’re going to do education, though.
Lucas: Yeah. Yeah. So I had a long time coming, figuring out what I was doing. So I’m taking these business classes in my first few semesters here, accounting and, you know, business 101 and business law and math classes, statistics. And I’m like, this just isn’t me. And so I did some serious soul searching. Like, what am I doing? What do I want? Right? Because now I’m here. Now this is in front of me. Like, where do I go? Let me just go back. Year Up didn’t work out. They didn’t have internships for everyone. Their program fell through. It was really bad that time that everybody was there. There was only, like, ten of us in that cohort that actually got internships. The other 50 of us didn’t. They said, you know, you can try and get a job. And I said, well, yeah, I want a job, but I’m also going to school. Right. And so I wanted an internship that would match up with my school schedule. Yeah. You know. So I thought, what am I interested in? What am I good at? What do I want to do? Where are my passions? And there was a lot of things I realized along the way. For one, I was just talking with somebody yesterday about, like, passions. We put so much importance on this, like, idea that we have to be completely and utterly in love with what we do. And I’ve realized that passion is kind of like happiness for me. And maybe you can relate to this. And to me, happiness is like a moment that you can look back on. And so passion is the same way. Sometimes I’m really passionate about something. And other times, maybe not so much.
Iqra: Yeah.
Lucas: And so it kind of, like, waxes and wanes. And it kind of fades at times. But there’s usually something there. And so for the past, let’s see, 10 years now, I’ve been working with children. Teaching kids. I’ve been running, like, day camps and, like, my own private thing. And I’ve been teaching kids mainly how to ride bicycles. It’s just like a side business.
Iqra: Adorable.
Lucas: It’s absolutely adorable. Yeah. And I teach mainly 4- to 6-year-olds. Oh. They’re just, like, bundles of joy when they’re not, you know, screaming and crying.
Iqra: Yes.
Lucas: And I’m really good at it. I’m really good at working with kids. And I’m really good at teaching. So I thought, why don’t I try and become a teacher? And so that’s when I decided to change my major. I did some more research, and I thought I could be a teacher. Let’s do this. The next question was, do I want to work with kids this age? 5-, 6-, 7-year-old age, like in elementary school. And after working with those at age for the past 10 years, I realized I wanted to do more. I wanted to do more with kids. More with students, rather. And by that, I mean talking about life and, you know, like, learning life skills more than just, like, riding a bicycle. So that’s when I signed up for the secondary education major, which is high school.
Iqra: Beautiful.
Lucas: So right now I’m on the path to becoming a high school teacher with a focus on English, an English teacher, essentially.
Iqra: Oh, you know, all of my best teachers ever since I was in school were history and English, they just leave such an impact. So you’re doing the teacher education via early childhood?
Lucas: Oh, no, no. Not early childhood. So secondary education in social studies. That’s the major that BMCC has right now. They actually – BMCC doesn’t actually have a secondary education in English, so hopefully we’ll see some changes in the future. Hopefully that will change. So I’ve been taking a lot of history classes and, you know, building a framework for the world, and that’s been so important. Yeah.
Iqra: Wow. Hearing your story is, like, really nice. It’s, like, warm.
Lucas: Oh, thank you.
Iqra: It’s a warm story. So when you go to Hunter, is there a program to get your teacher certificate? Or it’s like, how is that going to work to continue building this path that you found for yourself to be a high school teacher?
Lucas: Right, right. From what I’ve researched and what I’ve learned, the education majors, when you finish – okay, let me back it up. To become a teacher for public schools in New York City, you have to have a master’s degree.
Iqra: Okay.
Lucas: And when you get that degree, it’s a degree to become a teacher, so it doesn’t necessarily apply to other fields. You’re taking a test, and that test is a certificate. So your degree is essentially a certificate to becoming a teacher in public schools. So once I get to Hunter or finish my bachelor’s degree – I mean, finish it. I haven’t even started it. But, you know, you have to think ahead. It’s about having a plan.
Iqra: Because you’re getting your associates. You’re finishing the bachelor’s because it’s two years, and then the bachelor’s is two years then. So you are finishing your bachelor’s somehow because you’re starting here by getting your associates and getting the two years off of the bachelor’s, and then you’re left with two years.
Lucas: Right, right. Like, let’s just keep this train going, you know.
Iqra: Yes, exactly. So, are you gonna get your masters as well or do you only need your bachelors?
Lucas: RIght now, that’s the plan, to get my masters. Like, let’s stay in school as long as we can until we really wanna pull out. Like, my sister, she wanted to do that too, and she wanted to get more education, and she got her bachelor’s degree, and that’s enough. With that degree I’ll get this job and that’s fine for me for now. And I said, that’s great for you, but for me, where I’m at, I wanna keep going. I want to become educated. Because now, I’m going to school, I love learning, I love, you know, gaining knowledge, and being able to apply it. And for me, it’s about, like I said earlier, building a framework for the world and a better understanding. Widening the field of ambiguity and being able to see the different layers in each situation.
Iqra: Yes, I can tell you are really passionate.You are definitely an intellectual and an academic. Yes. I feel like, you are very “cafe vibes”. You, know? “Cafe reading a book vibes”. Yeah, that’s beautiful.
Iqra: What is an advice you’d give to your younger self entering BMCC—things you know now that you didn’t know before?
Lucas: Looking back, the advice I would give myself … get used to staying up and reading late. At first it was really hard… all I wanted to do was just like turn on the TV and tune out and say ok classes are done for the day. But I found great solace and comfort in opening up a book, not necessarily by candle light, even though that’s kind of romantic and fun. But just sitting and reading at night. It has been really good to learn so much. It’s been better for my brain, I feel like, learning more and.. you get it.
Iqra: Yeah. Yes, I do. I’m currently reading Dracula
Lucas: Uh…
Iqra: And it’s so hard, I’m like in page 83. But I’m right on it, I always have my dictionary open, like, circuling words. Ans yeah, like you said, at first its hard, because first, we are always on our phones or something, but it’s so beautiful to just read. Even just for five pages a night, that is enough. You are doing a good job by just reading. So, ok, the encouragement tor read, I think that is a good advice because when I was a student at BMCC, that didn’t hit me till later that I need to read the stuff that my professors are giving me. Like, I would not read it cause it’s like, its pointless, cause its… when I started reading it its no, this makes sense! Now I understand the classes ten times more and I am excited to go to class because I can talk about the things that I’ve learned.
Lucas: Yeah, yeah, it’s exciting, it feels good.
Iqra: It does feel good.
Iqra: So if there…ok wait. What are some resources that you would like to see at BMCC that are not being offered?
Lucas: Oh man…you know, I worked at … I worked with a group called impact…its mentoring and I loved it…I love working with impact.
Lucas: I had a lot of fun working with different people but I learned all the different resources that we have at the school and they are limitless… we have more resources here than probably any other school in the city. Even some of the private schools…some of the private universities don’t have the resources that we have.
Lucas: and there are so many outlets here as well..we’ve got so many clubs…if you’re interested in anything just do a min…a tiny bit of research and you’ll find what you’re looking for…just put yourself out there and sometimes your best resource can be your best friend… actually your best resource is yourself…learning to trust yourself…and asking for help is great…please ask for help…so um…i don’t think i could add to that to what other resources BMCC needs. … maybe some more free food days like thursdays is when you can get free food down at the Panther Pantry…umm if you need anything you could go to ARC
Iqra: What’s ARC?
Lucas: ARC is the advocacy and resource center. … I mean there’s other resources within the arc that you can take advantage of… I mean we’ve got the women’s resource center, the counseling center, the career development center and you know always speak up for yourself you know
Iqra: Yea i’ve definitely used all of those when I was a student here.
Lucas: oh its super useful
Iqra: it is and also like filing your taxes here…
Lucas: oh yea get your taxes done. you don’t want that to come back and bite you
Iqra: its free for students here… ok any last words?
Lucas: Iqra thank you so much for having me on…this has been really nice and Im glad to have gotten my word out there …you know keep trying in school
Iqra: yes
Lucas: it may feel hopeless but its not… and talk to your professors…this semester i had a really hard time in my literature course…
Iqra: why?
Lucas: its super dense…im like three essays behind…im not perfect
Iqra: talk to your professor.
Lucas: I did that and she told me take your time you’ll have time over the holidays we’ll accept it late…i mean thats not the case for everyone but talk to your professors.
Iqra: I agree. When i was a student here working paying my own bills… and being a student here…i felt so ashamed to tell professors like hey im literally working right now in my job to make money for rent and im behind the assignments but I will do it…if i did this sooner it would have saved me so many bad grades…i started doing that towards my last semester at BMCC and they were very understanding because they were like yea you’re an adult not just a student you’re on your own navigating life as well, we will accommodate something reasonable … and it’s just like yea…talk to your professors because they’re human too and they understand …and if you’re willing to let them know like what’s been happening they will see that you are here to actually win and do something and not just to have fun.
Lucas: yea yea do yourself a favor and show up to class
Iqra: and talk to your professors. … ok well…thanks so much for joining …this is going to the third episode of our podcast. Hope that’s a good number
Lucas: Sounds goood to me … well thanks everyone have a good day!
Iqra: Byeee
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IQRA:
IN THIS EPISODE, LUCAS REFLECTS ON HIS UNCONVENTIONAL PATH THROUGH COLLEGE. FROM WORKING AS A BIKE MECHANIC AND LINE COOK TO DISCOVERING HIS PASSION FOR TEACHING, LUCAS SHARES HOW HIS EXPERIENCES SHAPED HIS ACADEMIC JOURNEY AT BMCC AND BEYOND. IF YOU’VE EVER FELT UNCERTAIN ABOUT YOUR FUTURE OR QUESTIONED YOUR PATH, LUCAS’ STORY IS A REMINDER THAT SUCCESS ISN’T ALWAYS LINEAR—AND THAT FINDING YOUR PASSION CAN COME FROM THE MOST UNEXPECTED PLACES.
THIS EPISODE IS PART OF OUR THIRD SEASON, FINDING YOUR PATH THROUGH COLLEGE, FOCUSING ON THE STORIES OF STUDENTS WHO HAVE EXPLORED, QUESTIONED, AND DISCOVERED THE PATH THEY WANT TO FOLLOW, BOTH AT BMCC AND IN LIFE.
IF YOU HAVE A STORY YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE ON A FUTURE EPISODE OR A MESSAGE FOR THE STUDENT IN THIS EPISODE, EMAIL US AT BMCC.OPENLAB.PODCAST@GMAIL.COM. YOUR VOICE MATTERS.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING, AND SEE YOU IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF THE OPENLAB STUDENT VOICES PODCAST!
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