Credit: Penn State Abington.
Alumna ShaVon Savage will come home to Penn State Abington on May 9, 25 years after she graduated, as the accomplished educator and attorney will deliver the commencement address to the class of 2025.
Savage has served as the assistant superintendent of the Cheltenham School District since last summer after achieving success in roles including teacher, school improvement coordinator, education attorney, principal and district level administrator in the Lower Merion and Philadelphia school districts. Her full bio is available on the Abington website.
Savage’s ties to the campus run deep since she enrolled in courses while still a student at nearby Abington Senior High School. She graduated with a business major in 2000 as a member of the first class to earn bachelor's degrees from the campus.
In advance of her keynote address on May 9, she recently reflected on her experiences.
Q: Why did you choose Penn State Abington?
Savage: I could stay at home with my parents and attend school, and I also really liked the internship opportunities. I had one with a bank and one with an investment firm. I enjoyed the small campus environment, my professors actually knew me, and I could take multiple classes with the same professors. I got great advice and found adults that were interested in my trajectory and who encouraged me to explore my options.
Q: What experiences as an undergraduate were the most impactful?
Savage: I have a minor in English and truly believe that my classes at Abington prepared me for the writing that was required of me as a law student and lawyer. I had a creative writing class, and the professor encouraged me to explore my voice and convey messages to the audience in succinct but creative ways. My public speaking seminar prepared me for the time I would spend in front of audiences.
I met some great students who I was able to hang out with and who served as a support network.
Q: How did campus mentors support you?
Savage: I would say my most impactful mentors were my business professors. Professor Steve McMillan in particular was a favorite of mine. He always had great advice and was able to steer me in the right direction with honest feedback and a listening ear. He helped to clearly lay out a path to graduation for me and wrote recommendations for me as I pursued employment.
Q: How did your path change from a business degree to a career education?
Savage: I became a teacher after graduation because one of my professors shared an application for a teaching intern program and thought I’d be good at it. I loved it. He knew something about me I didn’t quite see in myself at that point.
I think I delved into education so wholeheartedly because I saw the impact a good teacher or professor could have on a student’s experience as a learner and on how they view themselves. In my own practice as an educator, lawyer and administrator, I attempt to emulate that every day and center the student in everything I do.
Q: What factors and experiences have been important to your development?
Savage: I have always had the benefit of having good mentors. Mentors can open doors, speak well of you in rooms when you’re not even present, provide you with opportunities and set up educational experiences for you. We often talk about mentorship, but we don’t often see what it looks like in its truest form.
I have had teachers who boosted my self-esteem, professors who guided my path, bosses who gave me opportunities to learn and grow, and mentors who treated me to a meal once a quarter to talk through work and life challenges. I have had mentors who were clear about the challenges that I would face in different environments and contexts and prepared me for them in the best ways they knew how.
And through all of this, I had a family who empowered me to explore my curiosities and who taught me early that I was good enough to do anything I put my mind to.
I think the combination of these two factors allowed me to craft a career trajectory that satisfied my internal sense of purpose to serve and support children and to do so in ways that supported the development of an expertise in this area.
Q: What advice would you give people who find that their career plans have changed or no longer align with their degree?
Savage: Be not afraid! You will grow and change as an individual throughout your life. Your career should serve how you want to live, not the other way around. Know that there are many ways to make money but that your purpose and joy can be satisfied in lots of different careers. Explore and be willing to admit that you don’t have all the answers right now. Any path you plan is bound to change; accepting that now will make the journey more of an enjoyable adventure.
Q: Some Abington students are pursuing Early Childhood and Elementary Education degrees. What is your advice for them?
Savage: Learn to ignore the rhetoric and the politics. In education, we have certain legal mandates we must adhere to for sure, but we also have moral mandates. By far, next to parents and guardians, teachers are the most important people in a child’s life. Know that you will have an impact and think hard about the impact you’d like to have. Everyone in this room remembers their worst and their best teacher. Be the best teacher.
