Orleans/Niagara BOCES was such a big draw for Pauline Carney that she even switched high schools so she could attend. “I was attending 7th grade in Catholic school and
I came to the Cosmetology clinic at the Niagara Career and Technical Education Center with a friend and that was it,” she says. “I got my hair colored fire engine red and I went home that night and told my mom I was going to go there and take the Cosmetology class. So, I ended up going to North Tonawanda High School, so I could sign up for the Cosmetology program.”
Her junior year she was assigned Rae Amacher’s class. “I was so excited to be there and I have to tell you she was so good to me and I will never forget all she did for me. Not only did she prepare me for Cosmetology licensure, but helped me in so many other ways, that she will never know. Mrs. Amacher was like a second mother to me and I appreciate everything she has done for me over the years.”
After graduation, Pauline worked at Fantastic Sam’s for one year, then worked as an assistant and nail technician at Thee Salon and Look’s Hair Studio in Buffalo along with building a business going to client’s house’s and cutting their hair. Pauline opened her own salon when she was 21 years old and operated it for 15 years. Over the years, Pauline would touch base with Rae at BOCES. Pauline goes on to say, “Rae saw something in me and she encouraged me to get my degree and become a Cosmetology teacher. She was a true mentor, as were the other two Cosmetology teachers at the time, Mrs. Bonaccorso and Mrs. Gibson, along with her teacher’s assistant, Denise Cevaer. They encouraged me and I got my bachelors and my masters degrees at Buffalo State College. They gave me great advice and I am so grateful for the support they gave me.”
Pauline landed a teaching job, with the help of Ann Logel, her supervising teacher for student teaching, at the Niagara Career and Technical Education Center. “I was so excited to be here and I still am, after 22 years as a teacher," she says. “I have always tried to be there for my students and give them the support that I was shown. One of my prized possessions is a binder of thank you letters that I have been written throughout the years. I really love when students return and tell me what they are doing with what they learned here. We play such an important role here as teachers. We are with these students sometimes more than their parents. I absolutely love being a teacher at Orleans/Niagara BOCES. This place is a family to me. I kind of grew up here and so did my kids. Thanks to BOCES and especially Rae Amacher, I have the life I have today.”
