Colonie teachers help provide foundation for Mineau’s success

By Haleigh VanWert

February 12, 2024

Students at Colonie Central High School in 2010 were living different lives than students are now. Many of them were just getting iPhones, social media didn't run their halls, and they watched as Taylor Swift won her first Grammy. However, the education and values they took from Colonie still reign true today. 

Lauren Mineau was a senior at this time and says that she her education at Colonie was valuable. 

“We had a lot of different opportunities to take classes that interested us, and within those classes, work on projects and topics that we cared about or wanted to learn more about,” she says.

The classes Mineau took at CCHS taught her numerous skills and influenced her to this day. She specifically credits Mr. Boham’s Participation in Government class, as one that taught her important skills:  media literacy, critical thinking, and forming thoughtful stances on various subjects. 

In her current position as Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing at Albany Law School, Mineau applies those skills she learned in Boham’s class.

During Mineau’s senior year she took journalism and creative writing with Mr. Kachadurian which she credits as being “by far the most influential [class] to me and helped me really figure out what I wanted to do.” 

“ Once I took these two classes with Mr. Kachadurian, it all started to make sense. Journalism was a way to combine all the things I loved—writing, creativity, and making an impact in the world,” she says.

After highschool, Mineau initially pursued graphic design in college.

 “I quickly realized that while I liked the creative aspects of it, I wanted to do something that made a difference,” she said. 

This led her to pursue journalism at UAlbany and she knew that's what she was supposed to do. While she was there, she served as the editor-in-chief of the Albany Student Press. 

“Without the foundational knowledge from my high school experience, I doubt I would have been able to be as successful as I have been,” she says.

After college, Mineau worked at The Saratogian and the Troy Record. This work allowed her to meet and tell the stories of people from all levels of society. 

“My time at Colonie prepared me with a keen sense of having respect for others and helping people realize their story is important. That has served me well in all the jobs I have held since,” she says.

In her current position, Mineau is regularly interviewing students, faculty, and alumni and highlighting the work they are doing. She also oversees the social media content creation and strategies. This allows her the opportunity to still have that creative aspect while staying on top of trends and how they work for their audience.  

“I am still working as a journalist, but serving a different population,” she says.

Mineau is also the lead editor of their alumni magazine. She says she enjoys the fact that she is able to work on a print publication. Despite the fact that many would argue print journalism is dying in our digital world, she disagrees.

In reflecting on her current career and her high school experience, she says, “I would say my time at Colonie is the foundation for everything else I've done. It was a great experience that continues to serve me to this day.”