The beach has always been a safe haven for Miss Maher ‘97, where she first discovered her infinite passion and adoration for science. Walking for hours on end picking up rocks, exploring salt marshes, and different types of seaweed led her to this monumental self discovery.

Hailing from an immediate family of all teachers, the idea of teaching has always fascinated Miss Maher. However, going into a field study of some sort also caught her interest, but in the end the decision to teach presented itself when she got a phone call from Bishop Feehan saying that they had an open position for a new Biology teacher. From there, Miss Maher now teaches Freshman Biology along with the electives of Marine Biology and Environmental Science.

From a young age, she observed how her favorite place, the ocean, was being negatively impacted by the poor decisions of others. She started making conscientious decisions to be environmentally friendly, saying it “just made sense.” She attended middle school at Blessed Sacrament, where she recalls that she was the only one in her class with a recycled paper notebook. Miss Maher frankly geeked out over science class, remembering how she would leave the classroom entranced with what she had just learned. She was thrilled as she found herself being able to make connections from class to the real world. She continued with this fascination in high school, where she attended our cherished Bishop Feehan, and all throughout her alma mater of Saint Anselm College, where she majored in Environmental Science.

When asked about how she overcame the challenge of remote learning, she used her Marine Biology class as an example. She explained that since a lot of Marine Bio is hands-on, she took the approach of slowing things down in order for everyone to feel included, which is a top priority of hers. When asked on a deeper level about her goals as a teacher for her students, she took a moment to think, before stating: