Dave Polochanin: Awardee of Artist Fellowship

From the World of Journalism to the World of Education 

by Katie Palumbo, CWP Intern

 

Before Life as an Educator 

David Polochanin began his career in Journalism where he initially worked for The Boston Globe composing various articles and even working with educators who are passionate about teaching. He earned his degree from UConn in 1995 and decided to switch his career path to teaching upon talking to various educators, while working for The Boston Globe. That’s when he achieved a Master’s in Education and began his career in Education in 1998. He is now teaching Middle School literature to sixth graders at Gideon Welles School in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Being a former Journalist and connecting with students who want to be journalists within the classroom, is such an amazing experience for Polochanin. 

Winning the Award

Winning the Artist Fellowship Award gave Polochanin this new sense of excitement which allowed him to focus on his passion for writing and still be within the field of Secondary Education, teaching students in the classroom. Thirty people got the grant and to Polochanin’s surprise he was to be named one of the 30 people who won. He has been trying to win a Fellowship Award for a few years, and finally got the notice that he, in fact, won the award. Winning the award gave Polochanin this amazing, overwhelming feeling as he accomplished something he has been trying to do for many years. 

 

Polochanin’s Plans After Receiving The Fellowship

Polochanin is driven to use the Fellowship to continue his passion for writing. Polochanin did not lose his desire to write when he chose the path of education. He is motivated on building that connection with his students in the classroom and passing on his inspiration for literature to the minds of his students. Polochanin is working towards getting his written work published in a collection he would like to call, Middle Grade Literature, which is a Collection of Poetry targeted towards grades four through eight. 

Polochanin has plans to continue his writing with the help of the Fellowship, and is eager to re-pitch his idea for his Poetry Collection to an agent. His goal is to get his Poetry Collection titled, Middle Grade Literature, published to continue to make his dreams come true in literature. It’s obvious that Polochanin is a hard worker and has made strides to achieve all that he dreams to. He is truly an inspiration and has changed the perspective of what one can do in this life. He is balancing his work as an educator while working for the opportunities to keep writing. 

 

Bringing Inspiration into the Classroom

He enjoys connecting with his students and watching them grow in their writing abilities, especially seeing their peaked interest of the world of literature. Polochanin is definitely a passionate teacher who shares that with his students through the way in which he engages with his students. 

When students come up to him and tell him that one day they want to be a journalist, it fill his heart with happiness. He spent time as a journalist and is able to gift his students his own experience, while making a positive impact on their learning.