Michael Cancelleri

About Michael Cancelleri

So how does a Sales Associate from Best Buy who is majoring/minoring in Biology/Chemistry at Wagner College while simultaneously working as a Head Resident Assistant find themselves in front of a classroom of 30+ students? It\'s quite simple actually. Although it may have been oblivious to me while in college, everything I was doing at that point in my life had some educational aspect, and more often than not, I was the educator.As a Sales Associate at Best Buy, I was responsible for teaching my customers about all of the products we had in store and how they would improve the quality of their lives. I always made sure to educate myself on the latest tech so when my customers had questions I could answer them; allowing them to shop with confidence. That was what made me successful in retail, my ability to provide myself with an in-depth understanding about products then convey that knowledge to the customer in a way that was exciting yet simple to understand.Education was also a crucial skill that led me to success in my role as a Head Resident Assistant (HRA), but it was not product knowledge that helped me fulfill my duties in this position, it was “people knowledge”. As an HRA, it was my job to learn about the members on staff so that I could build meaningful relationships with them and ultimately help them reach their full potential not only as Resident Assistants, but as people. I needed to understand what was the most effective way to motivate, manage, and advise them. It was in this role that I learned how impactful building a strong rapport is and that these relationships are built over time through the everyday interactions.To summarize, even though I might have been unaware of it, these two roles were prepping me for my ultimate role as an educator. As a Lead Teacher, it is important that I build meaningful relationships with my students and thoroughly understand the course material so I can convey my lessons in a way that is so easy even a first grader can understand it.

Experience

1. Firefighter

   New York City Fire Department

   Nov 2019 — Present · New York, NY, US

Education

• Wagner College

  Bachelor's degree, Biology, General

  2014 — 2018