Gail (Braddock) Quagliata’s photography project “Documenting the Dwindling Number of Manhattan Bodegas” was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal. Gail, who graduated in 1998  shared how she has realized the impact that her opportunities at Central High School impacted her life.

I really do credit my time at Career Center and as photographer for the Register with my love of (and absolute comfort with) photography. I think Central’s integration of vocational education is a model worth duplicating everywhere – I took what I learned in high school and used this to gain entry into the world of Fine Art.

I never fail to be shocked when I speak with colleagues in my field who weren’t afforded the same opportunities and creative freedoms I was granted in high school by the Register and the Career Center’s photo program until they were undergraduates or beginning their careers. I remember hearing some goofy thing on the news about CHS being the “crown jewel” of Midwestern public education when I was in school, but I didn’t truly appreciate how right that statement was until I had a chance to use that education out in the real world.  (Read the WSJ Article)