Kevin Burke
1. What was your ACE Site/ school/ grade level/ subject taught?
I taught English and Theology at Bourgade Catholic High School in Phoenix, AZ.
2. In general, how would you describe your ACE experience?
It would be wonderfully cliche to say it was the hardest job I ever loved wouldn't it? Hmm, don't want to steal from any other service programs there. I'll say this: the trajectory of my life, my vocation, was forever changed by ACE. I entered because I wanted to struggle (I did...in bunches) and to do meaningful work. My hope is that the latter continues through my work now.
3. What have you been doing since you graduated from ACE?
I went back to Boston College and got a masters in Higher Ed. Administration, but the degree was more incidental, or rather a means to an end. While I was there I got to teach college writing and to work in student affairs on service learning and social justice stuff (nice word, English guy). This past year I started a PhD in Curriculum and Teaching at Michigan State University. This is kind of an extreme way of backing up my high school baseball coach who called me the "dumbest smart kid" he'd ever met.
4. How have you stayed connected to ACE?
I'll be down in Fort Worth to run the marathon in a week...I continue to be affirmed on a daily basis in my luck in falling in with wonderful friends through ACE (faculty and students, alike)
5. What are the ways in which you continue to serve Catholic education?
We'll be taking a trip down to New Orleans this summer, with fourteen or so undergrad education students in tow, to work with some of the parochial schools still recovering from Katrina. Our hope, then, is to find some way to connect universities with New Orleans schools to provide consistent curricular and programmatic support beyond mere (and I say that not to dismiss our experience, but to categorize it as a starting point) service trips.
Lauren O’Neil
1. What was your ACE Site/ school/ grade level/ subject taught?
My ACE site was South Central Los Angeles teaching 3rd grade at Mother of Sorrows School.
2. In general, how would you describe your ACE experience?
My ACE experience was nothing that I expected and everything I needed as a teacher and a Catholic. I had a wonderful principal Sister Martha Garcia who gave me guidance and, over time, more and more freedom in the classroom. The staff worked well together and was very helpful. The MOS community is very spiritual, and I felt needed and appreciated, which is great for a first year teacher! I taught Sacramental Preparation which allowed me to teach the Gospels and be a part of my students' spiritual journey. I felt like a true member of the community. Teaching was a challenge. My students were primarily ENL learners, and I introduced them to new vocabulary and English sayings as well as the required science, math, reading, etc. Full days, after school tutoring and ACE assignments kept me busy. Living in Los Angeles was another experience in itself. I loved taking photographs of the beautiful beaches, interesting people and new experiences that filled my two years of ACE with many vivid memories.
3. What have you been doing since you graduated from ACE?
After graduating from ACE, I stayed in Los Angeles for two more years. I lived in Santa Monica with my sister and then Long Beach with cousins, while teaching at St. Maria Goretti School in Long Beach. I was still active in Sacramental Preparation. The desire to travel set in and soon after getting settled in Long Beach, I packed up my camera and moved to Costa Rica. I am currently teaching at The European School in San Pablo de Heredia. The school is a bilingual, private school. The country is beautiful and the school has been a new experience for me. I have learned many new teaching techniques, but more than anything I have realized I miss teaching in a Catholic environment. I hope to continue to travel abroad but also find a place in a Catholic school.
4. How have you stayed connected to ACE?
After graduating from ACE, I stayed in the Los Angeles area, which has a large group of ACE graduates. From time to time I would reunite with the others. I also made friends with new ACE'ers are they traveled to L.A. Los Angeles has the perfect weather for beach get-togethers and backyard barbeques.
I will continue to stay connected to ACE by participating in the Chile Fellowship and earning a ENL certification through a branch of the ACE program. ACE continues to offer the best programs and opportunities for teachers like myself.
5. What are the ways in which you continue to serve Catholic education?
Having received 18 years of Catholic education myself, I aspire to always serve the Catholic community. The biggest and best roles for me to serve are teacher and Eucharistic minister. I continue to be a part of my students academic and spiritual education. After my current year in a private, non-Catholic school, I will most likely always teach in a Catholic school. I know my Catholic experience will aide in my teaching career of Catholics, and my ACE experience will aide in my teaching of Latino children in the U.S. Being Latina, it is especially important for me to continue to educate students who learn English as a second language. I feel a necessity to give them the same opportunities I have.