Kerri
Anne Shea
Journalism
–Profile Story
December
11th, 2012
Achieving Dreams at Any Age
The bell rings. Students walk down the
hallway towards their next class. It is the first period after lunch and the
students are loud and rambunctious. The girls are all smiles as they enter
Mrs.Shea’s classroom. She smiles back at them and says a friendly hello to each
student.
Doreen M. Shea, an economics teacher and
an assistant in the guidance office here at Mount Alvernia High School, will be
celebrating her five year mark with the school this year. She began to teach
later in her life than most but enjoys every minute of her work at the high
school.
“She loves to give her time and help people.
This work is a passion for her especially when she can help guide students
along their path,” said Maureen O’Rourke, her co-worker and head guidance
counselor at the school. “A school environment is a great place for her.”
Shea had always wanted to be a teacher but
was deterred from going after this goal when she was young. In 1976, Shea was a
senior in high school at Mt. St. Joseph’s Academy in Brighton, MA. She had
always been interested in education and was considering becoming a teacher. “My
guidance counselor who was a Sister of St. Joseph’s had told me that I wouldn’t
be able to get a job because teachers were a dime a dozen and the positions
weren’t going to be there,” said Shea,“ and I didn’t want to not have a job
when I got out of college."
Therefore, Shea decided to attend Bentley
College because she had aced bookkeeping in high school. In 1980, she graduated
from Bentley with a BS in marketing management and became a junior accountant
for Group Insurance Commission for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
While working as an accountant, Shea was
able to advance her position and she enjoyed the people she worked with. However
the monotonous routine was
difficult to sit through everyday. Maureen Howells, her sister-in-law and good friend, could
see this as well. “I don't think she really enjoyed working for the state as an
accountant,” said Howells. “It was tedious work and she was always happier
working with others.”
Shea continued to work in that position up
until the birth of her first daughter in 1991 when she became a stay at home
mom. Three more children followed and Shea was consumed with caring for them. However,
she enjoyed staying at home and her children enjoyed having her home too. “I
liked having my mom home when I was younger because during the school year she
was always there to help us with homework and anything else we needed,” her
daughter, Kate Shea, recalled.
Doreen Shea and her husband, Michael Shea,
sent their children to the local Catholic school, St. Theresa’s School in West
Roxbury, MA, once they were of age. Shea again became very interested in the
education system. She was very involved at St. Theresa’s and served in various
positions on the parent teacher association including a position as the vice
president. “She was always helping out at the school,” recalled her husband.
She eventually began to work as a substitute teacher at St. Theresa and two
other local Catholic schools.
Although this year marks, her fifth year as
a teacher at Mount Alvernia, Shea has been part of the Mount Alvernia Community
for much longer. Her three daughters all attended Mount Alvernia, starting in
September of 2003 when her oldest daughter, Kerri Anne Shea, entered 7th
grade. Her other two daughter, Kate and Christine Shea, began at Mount Alvernia
in 2004 and 2006, respectively. Shea once again became involved with their
school. As a Mount Alvernia parent, she was a member of the booster club and
the hospitality committee. She knew many of the students and families here
because of her daughters and she came to know many of the teachers for that
same reason. Her daughters loved the school and she soon did as well.
For most mothers today being a stay at
home mom is no longer an option and it was no longer an option for Shea. She
enjoyed being able to volunteer in the school environment but with her three daughters
and a younger son all at Catholic schools and college fast approaching, Shea
knew she could no longer stay at home. She did not want to stay at home
anyways. Her kids were all in school and could take care of themselves. “It is a big change for mothers who
have been home from the formal work environment to go back to work,” said
Howells. “We all question whether we still have skills that can be used in
today's workplace.” Shea worried about what type of job she would actually be
qualified for. She wanted to work in a school
environment but wasn’t sure if she had what it takes. Former principal of Mount Alvernia, Kathleen
Kent believed she did and in the summer of 2007, she offered Shea a teaching
position. She took full advantage of this offer and finally fulfilled her dream
of becoming a teacher.
Although she had finally achieved her dream of
becoming a teacher, Shea still had to struggle through her first year of
teaching. “What I struggled with the most was the amount of prep work I need,”
said Shea. “The first year of teaching is very time consuming.” At times it was
hard to keep up with the class work and creating lesson plans for the next day.
Having no professional education
training was also an area Shea struggled with. She had always wanted to be a
teacher but had never actually been trained to be one. She had to teach herself
the best methods through trial and error.
Shea was able to
work through these struggles by working hard and excepting guidance of
co-workers and the help of family. “I just kept working hard and using the
resource available to me,” said Shea. One of these resources was co-worker, Ann
Turcotte, who would observe her class and give her pointers on her teaching
style and creating lesson plans. Shea also credits her family with having
patience as she worked 24/7 as both a mother and a teacher. “She
would always come to our various sporting events after school and support us
even though she was a teacher,” said her daughter, Kate Shea. “She knew how to
manage her time wisely and get everything done that needed to be done so she
could be here and support us.”
Shea’s family and co-workers can all
plainly see how much she loves being a teacher and how dedicated she is to her
work. “Doreen is passionate about teaching
and guidance. When she talks about it she gets excited. It really shows,” says
Howells. “She loves being in the classroom, she loves the hours, and she loves
the overall environment,” says Kate Shea. “She enjoys being a teacher because
she loves being in the school and getting to know the kids. She loves talking
to the students.” Her husband also agrees saying “she enjoys being a teacher
because she is able to interact with her students and other members of the
faculty.” The faculty and students also love having her good attitude and
always friendly disposition around the school.
Her students also
know that how passionate Shea is about her work. “She engaged her students and
really challenged us to do our best and she always tried to make class
interesting,” said former student, Lauren Connolly. Connolly recalls one class
when held
a taste test to show the difference of brand names versus the store brand. “It
was a fun activity that helped the class learn and it showed that she really
wanted us to learn about the subject matter instead of just studying it and
spitting it back out on the test,” said Connolly.
Her
enthusiasm for learning and her love of Mount Alvernia are an inspiration for
not only her students but for all members of our school community. “It is
inspiring to me to see my mother go after the work she wants to do,” says her
daughter, Kate. “It reminds me that I can do whatever I chose to do and I don’t
need to find my perfect job right after college.” Shea’s career changes also
serve as a reminder that people can follow and achieve their dreams at any age
instead of having their life all planned right out of college. Shea is also
taking various classes about economics and guidance to learn more and be the
best teacher that she can be.
“I am very happy that I was able to follow my childhood dream and become a
teacher,” says Shea. “I plan to continue working in this wonderful community as
long as I can.”
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