Jeanenne Verret '00, M.Ed. '01
"I've always been community minded, so BC's commitment to service was enormous for me. The Lynch School underscored the importance of giving back and being involved in the community."
Profession: Eighth-grade teacher at Pearl River High School, Pearl River, New York
After graduating from Boston College in five years with a bachelor's and a master's degree, Jeanenne Verret landed a job right away.
"I was hired to teach right out of college. And I'm certain I got the job because of the reputation of BC," says Verret. "All the things I learned in my undergraduate and graduate programs, combined with the practical experience I got, gave me a very good grounding."
Today, Verret teaches English and social studies to eighth grade students with special needs. "I'm certified in special education and English, and at Pearl River I get to dabble in both," she says. "Among other things, I run a self-contained English classroom for special needs students. We study the same literature as the other classes and use the same tests, but in a smaller group. It's a great opportunity to get to know the kids really well, and build a relationship with kids who don't necessarily love coming to school because of the challenges they face."
Looking back, Verret says she appreciated the Lynch School's practical approach. "You learn about classroom practice right along with theory," she says. "It's not just, 'Here are the classics that have to be taught.' It's 'Here's a cool way to work things into the curriculum to engage your students.' In my work I try to stay true to those roots, because I learned from the greatest professors out there."