Tewksbury teacher wins award

Jamie Goldberg raised more than $3,000 for an equine rescue group.

TOP OF THE CLASS: Jane Seminara of Tewksbury said she felt "humbled, grateful, and moved" when she recently learned she would receive a 2008 Exemplary Teachers Award from Boston College. It was the way she was nominated, however, that meant more than the award itself.

Seminara, a theology teacher at Arlington Catholic High School, was nominated by a former student, Bridget Buoniconti. Two other teachers - John Cox, a history teacher at Waltham High School, and Laura Piano, an advanced placement Spanish teacher at Randolph High School in Randolph, N.J. - were chosen based on essays written by senior education and counseling majors attending the Boston College Lynch School of Education.

Asked to describe her most influential teacher, Buoniconti wrote about the lessons in human rights she learned in Seminara's Social Justice and Voice and Vision courses.

"She exposed us to cultures, peoples, and atrocities that we never could have imagined," Buoniconti wrote. "It was not to make us feel guilty about our own lives and privilege; it was to compel us to be informed, to not be passive. She was compelling us to act, to do. To see the world beyond our front door steps, and maybe, hopefully, make it a better place."

Seminara, who has taught at Arlington Catholic High School for 17 of her 22 years in the classroom, said she was happily surprised to earn such high praise from a student with whom she hadn't been in touch.

"This is absolutely the highlight for me as a teacher," said Seminara, who said she cried after hearing of the award. "This experience washes away every dark day when I've driven home, asking myself what I'm doing this for. What she wrote meant more to me than anything in the world. It will sustain me for years to come."

ANIMAL INSTINCT: Thirteen-year-old Jamie Goldberg of Lexington has been taking horseback riding lessons for about half of her life. So after reading a magazine story about the abused horses cared for by the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals (MSSPA), she wanted to help.

"My mom warned me in the car, but I still didn't know what to expect," said Jamie, recalling her visit in July to the MSSPA farm in Windham, Maine. "Their fur was matted, their manes were tangled, and you could see their ribs where there was supposed to be fat. I had never seen a horse look like that before. It was really emotional."

As her community service project for her bat mitzvah, Jamie participated in the MSSPA's Ride to Rescue fund-raiser last month.

She raised more than $3,000 in pledges from family members, friends, neighbors, and fellow equestrians for the organization, which is the largest equine rescue and rehabilitation facility in New England.

Jamie said she was "really excited" to learn she was the top fund-raiser. In return, she was recently presented with a custom-made horse blanket at the organization's recent Animal Well Fair in Maine.

"The horses at the MSSPA are treated really well, and I'm just glad I could raise money to make their lives a little bit better," Jamie said. "That means a lot to me."

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: Boxborough resident Virginia Parsons always liked to draw, but didn't take it seriously until she encountered an artist while she was still a high school student.

"I went to a cat show and saw a woman [painting] the show cats," she recalled. "I watched her and thought, 'I can do that.' "

Parsons, who paints animal portraits in addition to landscapes and seascapes, said she comes from a long line of artists. Her daughter, Becky Parsons of Boxborough, followed in her footsteps to art school and is now exhibiting alongside Virginia at Sargent Memorial Library in Boxborough.

While Virginia works mostly in pastels, Becky recreates animals, the Maine coastline, and Cape Cod scenery in oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, pen and ink, and silverpoint. Mother and daughter are displaying about 45 paintings at the library.

"When you're painting, you might see a tree but also notice the shading around it," Virginia said. "Painting is a nice way to look at everyday things in a different light."

The Parsons' exhibit is on display at Sargent Memorial Library, 427 Massachusetts Ave. in Boxborough, through Nov. 6. For more information, call 978-263-1275.

People items may be submitted to Cindy Cantrell at cantrell@globe.com.