Once a Raider, always a Raider: Gigliello’s journey from Colonie student to teacher

March 25, 2022

By: Kathryn Taleporos

Wearing a Colonie sweatshirt, Gigliello casually converses with students before the bell rings. Her speech composition and presentation class will be giving one- minute how-to speeches today. As each student presents their speech, Gigliello listens to what her students are saying, and provides feedback after every speech.

Public speaking is a nerve wracking task, but her students say that Gigliello eases the anxiety comes with giving a speech. One of her students, Selma Osei, says that Gigliello’s approachability, and willingness to help her students makes the class less terrifying. Her attentiveness and genuine interest in her students allows her students to relate to her. Gigliello says the only time she struggles to relate to her students is when they procrastinate, because she is not a procrastinator herself, but other than that the classroom is a positive environment.

Born in Colonie, Julianna Gigliello transformed from a rogue kindergartener who cut her school uniforms, to an English teacher at the school where she was once a student. Now living a street away from where she grew up, Gigliello utilizes her passion for English to build connections with her students, and create a positive environment in the CCHS community.

Growing up as the daughter of a teacher, Gigliello said that it was time spent in her mother’s classroom, and the English professors she had at Siena, drew her to the field.

While her mother was one of the reasons that she wanted to go into teaching, she was nervous to tell her that she was planning on switching to education. Originally, her mother had told Gigliello not to go into education. Gigliello said this was because her mother did not want her to have to face all of the challenges that go with teaching, such as issues with parents and students.

Part of Gigliello’s passion for English stems from the professors she had at Siena College. She said that every single professor that she had at Siena was truly supportive of their students, and offered her many different classes that she would not have been able to take anywhere else. She draws inspiration from her experiences at Siena into her career, she said that she incorporates many of the books and activities that her professors used into her own classroom.

“I love the freedom that English gives people.” said Gigliello during our interview.

However, the journey from student to teacher has not always been easy for Gigliello. Her first years as a teacher, she found it difficult to balance teaching and her personal life. She said that she was always nervous about disappointing her students, so she would dedicate all her time to preparing, and end up being over prepared, and with not a lot of balance between work and home. But as she progressed through her career, she learned the importance of balance.

Gigliello said, “You have to balance work and personal life or else you are going to be miserable.”

At first, she said finding this balance was difficult, but now she has learned to set limits for how much time she is dedicating to work at home. This balance has allowed her to do more of the things that she enjoys, including her favorite activity, spending time with her adorable dog, Gemma.

Gigliello balances not just being a teacher, but staying involved, embodying the idea of once a Raider, always a Raider. Gigliello continues to be active in the Colonie community as an advisor to the senior class, ICARE, and running SAT review classes, she is able to balance being an educator and helping the community.