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Lara Miller

Biography

 

Profile: Mother of three, Army veteran, non-traditional student ... all apply to Graduate Scholar Lara Miller.  A native of Northwest Massachusetts, Lara tried college right out of high school but it wasn’t her thing.  She decided instead to join the armed forces.  In 2001, Lara returned to college.  She enrolled at nearby Berkshire Community College as a Comstock Scholar, a program administered through Smith College where Lara eventually transferred and received her undergraduate degree.  The program is named for Ada Louise Comstock, a Smith grad from the turn of the 20^th century, who fostered education for women, especially those, like Lara, whose education was delayed because of family, career, or other reasons.  Throughout her academic career, Lara has had a special cheering section – her children.  “I was determined to show my daughters that women can be independent and accomplish whatever it is they desire.  I became an Ada Comstock Scholar and also a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar after two years at community college.” Already a veteran substitute teacher since her graduation in 2009 from Smith, Lara will be attending a nearby college for her master’s degree to teach Special Education in secondary schools.

Inspiration:  It’s been more than 20 years since Lara was in high school, but a teacher from those happy days still inspires her to move forward in her desire to also become a teacher and affect lives positively.  That teacher, Jim Duquette, Lara remembers as a superior educator and man. “While I did not always appreciate his not-so-gentle pushes to work and study more, I have been grateful throughout my life for his nudges,” Lara fondly recalls. “He was a builder of self-esteem and confidence and I was lucky to have been his student.”

Aspiration:  To work as a special education teacher at a secondary school.

Making a Difference: Lara made a difference in her life and the lives of her children by going back to college.  And by doing so Lara will someday make a difference in the lives of special education children she will eventually teach.  It was not an easy road for Lara, but she did it.  She juggled daycare, held down a job as a bartender, and drove back and forth to her college over 50 miles away.  “I am proud that I have been a decent mother and a good role model to my children.”

Accolades: A stand-out in the classroom at both Berkshire Community College and Smith, Lara won both the History Department and English Department awards at Berkshire and was also the recipient of the Pittsfield Rotary Club Scholarship.  At Berkshire she also was the editor of the college’s student literary magazine.

Interesting Fact:  People are always surprised that although Lara served in the military and attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA after basic training where she was assigned to learn Korean, “I only remember a few phrases!”

 

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