What is Ulster BOCES?
Nicholas DelPezzo

Ulster BOCES means different things to different people. For Nicholas DelPezzo, Ulster BOCES means the chance to overcome obstacles and anger issues, become a successful businessman, and contribute to his community by helping the less fortunate.

For Nicholas, life was full of twists, turns, and unexpected challenges growing up. As a child, he recalls going to the grocery store and shopping for food using government subsidized food stamps. At school he had trouble concentrating and difficulty getting along with his classmates. During this time at the New Paltz Central School District, Nicholas was diagnosed with having a learning disability, and was placed in special education classes in an attempt to meet his learning needs. Still, Nicholas says he felt distanced from his classmates and sought solace by uniting with other troubled students. “I was twelve when I fell in with the wrong crowd and that’s when it all really started going downhill,” Nicholas recalls. His rebellion resulted in trouble at home, disciplinary action from teachers and administrators at school, and even brushes with the law.

Later, Nicholas’ education was disrupted after moving to North Carolina with his family. Nicholas says he frequently skipped classes and didn’t take school seriously, causing him to fall further behind his peers. Though he stopped getting in physical fights, his academic descent continued. In tenth grade, Nicholas’ family moved back to New Paltz and the problems picked right up again. “I got in a fistfight my first day back at school,” Nicholas recalls. “I was immediately suspended.”

Three months later, Nicholas says he was “shipped off to Ulster BOCES.” Though the initial transition to the Ulster BOCES Center for Alternative Education (CAE) was disconcerting, a shift occurred.

“My experience there was I actually started going to school,” Nicholas says. The smaller classrooms, individualized attention, and teacher dedication made a huge difference in changing his attitude towards school. “I found out that the CAE teachers really cared if I wasn’t learning. When I wasn’t paying attention they would take the time to ask, ‘Why?’ and look into it,” he says. “The Ulster BOCES staff treated me as an equal. They treated me with respect, so I gave them respect,” Nicholas says. He especially credits teacher Dawn Krom for helping him find the right path as a young adult. “I would act out and do whatever I wanted to gain attention, but Dawn would still treat me like a human being.” Nicholas says the advice she gave him caught his attention. As he describes it, “She was real with me.”

During this time, staff at the CAE found Nicholas to have been mislabeled as “learning disabled,” and changed his Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to reflect the fact he was emotionally, not learning, disabled. “It wasn’t that I couldn’t do academics, it was that I chose not to do them,” reflects Nicholas. Having his academic capabilities confirmed by staff helped Nicholas start to rebuild his educational experience.

“I found I really enjoyed my history and politics classes because I love to debate,” Nicholas says. “It really made for a fun class environment, and I enjoyed learning for the first time.” As Nicholas was getting his education back on track, he undertook the challenge of full-time employment. After attending classes all

day, he would work from 4:30 PM until 11:30 PM each weeknight in Wood Dining Services in SUNY New Paltz as a dining room attendant and grill cook.

Work became even more important the next year, when Nicholas was faced with the challenge of becoming a father at a young age. “When my daughter was born, I knew I had to work even harder,” Nicholas says. “I wanted to be able to provide for her.”

Nicholas’ supervisors at SUNY New Paltz saw the extra effort he was putting into his work. After completing his studies at the Ulster BOCES CAE and graduating from New Paltz High School, Nicholas was promoted to being a driver for Wood Dining Services, a position he worked from 2001 until 2002. He was then quickly promoted again to become the retail supervisor for SUNY New Paltz’s Sodexho Dining Services in 2002. Nicholas’ duties entailed overseeing three campus Jazzman’s Coffee operations, making schedules for employees, and assisting the director in inventory and ordering products. Nicholas’ pride in his work was evident. After one year as a retail supervisor, Nicholas was promoted to become the assistant director of Sodexo Dining Service, and the next year, he became the retail manager for Jazzman’s Coffee on the SUNY New Paltz campus, coordinating staffing, training, scheduling and ordering for three separate coffee house locations.

“I love people and I love being a manager,” Nicholas says. When the opportunity came his way to apply for a general manager position at a Hess convenience station in Saugerties, Nicholas embraced the chance. Using his diplomacy skills he honed at Ulster BOCES and the leverage of having years of retail management experience, Nicholas was able to negotiate his starting salary and accepted the job to further his career.

In 2005, Nicholas bought his first home in Kingston, New York. He lives there along with his father and younger brother. “It is great to be able to buy things and provide for my family,” Nicholas says. “I really appreciate the life I have.”

As part of his job at the Hess convenience store, Nicholas is able to give back to his community. In 2007, he conducted a fundraising drive for St. Jude’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, raising needed funds for pediatric cancer research. By keeping his staff informed and creating incentives for raising money, Nicholas was able to motivate his employees. According to Nicholas, his store succeeded in raising more money than any other Hess in the Northeast, and Nicholas was rewarded with a trip to St. Jude’s Research Hospital to see how he made a difference.

“Everyone was in tears,” Nicholas recalls of seeing videos of past and current patients at St. Jude’s during a special dinner presentation honoring him and other volunteers for their fundraising efforts. He was also able to meet some of the patients during his trip to Tennesse. “It was the best experience I have ever had—one of the proudest moments of my life.”

Thanks to the Ulster BOCES CAE, Nicholas was able to move beyond his emotional challenges, successfully graduate from high school, and move up the corporate ladder in a retail management career. “The teachers at Ulster BOCES were always there for me,” Nicholas says. “I owe a lot of my success to them.”