Speakers give Riverhead 4th graders a lesson in the value of education and veterinarians

Riverhead 4th graders from the school district’s elementary schools took a short field trip on Wednesday to the high school, where they learned about the importance of education and veterinary medicine from two guest speakers.

The speeches are part of a series to expose local students to career-driven community members who are of an ethnic or racial minority, said Riverside resident Robert “Bubbie” Brown, who planned the event with diversity, equity and inclusion specialist and teacher Jamaal Boyce. Brown said he’s organized the speaker series since 2005.

“It started… because the kids in this school system could go from kindergarten to graduation and never see a face that looked like them,” Brown said. The speakers are “people from their own neighborhoods who have had successful lives,” he said.

The first speaker was Camryn “CC” Highsmith of Southampton, a community outreach worker and college life coach at the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center, a historically Black organization that serves East End residents. Highsmith delivered a speech about the importance of education to the students, speaking in both English and Spanish. 

“I have a big question for you today: Why do we go to school? Maybe you’re thinking it’s because my parents told me I have to, or just to learn stuff,” Highsmith said. “But I want to show you how school matters, and I promise you, it’s more exciting than just doing homework.”

She told the students that reading, writing and communication skills learned in English class are important in everyday life, from trying to follow directions when going to a friend’s house, or preparing for a job interview.

History class, Highsmith said, “teaches us what works and what didn’t work, so we don’t repeat the same mistakes.”

“So have you ever gotten to a fight with your friends and you just know what went wrong? Or been stuck on a video game level? Or struggled with a TikTok dance that just doesn’t look right?” she said to a chorus of yeses from the students. History is about “thinking back on what you did, what worked, what didn’t work, so you can make changes and do it right,” she said.

Math and science can be hard, but are “like superpowers. They can teach you how to think and ask questions and solve problems,” she said. Those skills are applied when you want to buy a new pair of sneakers or when measuring ingredients when cooking, she said.

Homework — which when mentioned received groans from almost every student in the auditorium — “teaches you how to keep going, even if things are tough,” Highsmith said. “Life is full of things that you don’t always want to do, but pushing through them makes you stronger.”

Art “lets the world know who you are in your own way,” Highsmith said. “Whether it’s changing art into music or dancing, creativity makes you feel happy and proud of yourself.”

“School isn’t just about learning facts and getting a good grade, it’s about learning who you are,” Highsmith said.

“The more you learn, the more you know,” Highsmith said. “You can go to college if you want to. You can own your own business if you want. You can make YouTube videos if you want to.” — that suggestion got quite a stir — “You can travel the world if you want to.”

“So the next time you wake up and you don’t want to go to school, remember this: every lesson and every subject another day is helping you to build your future, and that’s something that only you can control,” Highsmith said. “School isn’t just about getting your grades, it’s about being strong and being confident and being creative and being smart.”

The second speaker was Dr. Dexter Archer of Riverhead, a veterinarian and owner of the Shirley Veterinary Hospital, who spoke to the children about different types of veterinary medicine and his 28-year-long career. 

Archer told the students that veterinarians help more than just cats and dogs, including animals in aquariums, zoos and farms. Veterinarians can have certain specialties, he said; Archer specializes in rehabilitation and operates Healing Hands 4 Paws, a canine rehabilitation and other therapies for dogs. Archer showed the students a prosthetic led he designed for a dog who was hit by a car and lost its leg. 

“When you think of a veterinarian, don’t just think of dogs and cats, think about all animals,” Archer said. “And then I want you to think about all areas of animals — food, work, sports, heart, lungs — there’s a specialty for all those areas.”

Archer brought his own dog, a 9-year-old black lab and retired guide dog named Newton to the high school stage. Newton and two lucky student volunteers helped Archer demonstrate how to listen to a dog’s heartbeat and do a simple veterinary check-up. 

Students took the opportunity to ask both Highsmith and Archer about themselves, their careers and about Newton.