Sandra Ward Cooper
Faculty of Applied Health & Community Studies
Degree: Early Childhood Education
Year of graduation: 1991
Living the Sheridan Dream
By Sandra Ward Cooper
Over 20 years after graduating from Sheridan’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) program, I was standing in the audience watching my daughter Kendra Cooper take the same steps I did. Words could not describe the feeling. Never did I have the slightest thought that Kendra would be interested in the education field and now here she was, a 2013 ECE grad from Sheridan. I guess it was destiny; a week before my graduation I found out I was expecting Kendra, so technically, she was taking her second walk across the stage but this time it was on her own to receive her own diploma.
While at Sheridan, Kendra excelled both in the classroom and on the field, especially as a driving force on the varsity Women’s Soccer Team. Not long after receiving her ECE diploma, Kendra was back playing with her beloved Bruins at Sheridan, first while earning a Fitness Leadership Certificate and now as a student in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education program.
As Captain of the Women’s Soccer Team, Kendra made history, becoming Sheridan’s all-time leading goal scorer in October 2015. She led the team to the provincials and was named an Ontario College Athletic Association All-Star this fall. She also landed a position as a Sheridan Student Admissions Representative.
But Kendra doesn’t wear her accomplishments on her sleeve. Soccer is just a game she loves to play, so we do the celebrating for her.
Since my own graduation from Sheridan in 1991, I’ve been working in the education field, including over 18 years with the Dufferin Peel Catholic School Board. I am also a board member for a Child Care Centre in Mississauga, and a published author with two books in circulation. My autobiographical books are titled The Start of the Journey and Journeying Through Adversities.
Kendra being at Sheridan has re-connected me with my past. I grew up with Sheridan’s Athletic Director, Jim Flack, whose father was my elementary school principal in Streetsville. At the College’s Athletics Homecoming in October, I had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Flack, as well as my elementary school principal and his wife after all those years.
Sheridan College has brought so much joy and happiness to our home that we truly are living the Sheridan dream. By the looks of it, Sheridan will continue to be part of our family for generations to come.
Learn more about Sheridan’s Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership
Get the latest on the Sheridan Bruins here
By Sandra Ward Cooper
Over 20 years after graduating from Sheridan’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) program, I was standing in the audience watching my daughter Kendra Cooper take the same steps I did. Words could not describe the feeling. Never did I have the slightest thought that Kendra would be interested in the education field and now here she was, a 2013 ECE grad from Sheridan. I guess it was destiny; a week before my graduation I found out I was expecting Kendra, so technically, she was taking her second walk across the stage but this time it was on her own to receive her own diploma.
While at Sheridan, Kendra excelled both in the classroom and on the field, especially as a driving force on the varsity Women’s Soccer Team. Not long after receiving her ECE diploma, Kendra was back playing with her beloved Bruins at Sheridan, first while earning a Fitness Leadership Certificate and now as a student in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education program.
As Captain of the Women’s Soccer Team, Kendra made history, becoming Sheridan’s all-time leading goal scorer in October 2015. She led the team to the provincials and was named an Ontario College Athletic Association All-Star this fall. She also landed a position as a Sheridan Student Admissions Representative.
But Kendra doesn’t wear her accomplishments on her sleeve. Soccer is just a game she loves to play, so we do the celebrating for her.
Since my own graduation from Sheridan in 1991, I’ve been working in the education field, including over 18 years with the Dufferin Peel Catholic School Board. I am also a board member for a Child Care Centre in Mississauga, and a published author with two books in circulation. My autobiographical books are titled The Start of the Journey and Journeying Through Adversities.
Kendra being at Sheridan has re-connected me with my past. I grew up with Sheridan’s Athletic Director, Jim Flack, whose father was my elementary school principal in Streetsville. At the College’s Athletics Homecoming in October, I had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Flack, as well as my elementary school principal and his wife after all those years.
Sheridan College has brought so much joy and happiness to our home that we truly are living the Sheridan dream. By the looks of it, Sheridan will continue to be part of our family for generations to come.
Learn more about Sheridan’s Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership
Get the latest on the Sheridan Bruins here