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Alumni Profile - Mary (Wilson) Mauldin '10
Mary loved being a student at Central Catholic. “Being involved was important to me, so I did that through sports and as a Rambassador. I wanted to bring what I had been given by the community, as I felt super important and valued as a student here.” She was also active on the track and soccer teams.
There were many teachers who inspired Mary during her four years here—Mr. Halligan, Ms. Ramsey and Ms. Pinder. “Mr. Halligan was always inspiring by the way he taught. He held high expectations and pushed me in every class to be the best version of myself. Ms. Ramsey always provided a safe space and had a great way of bringing humor into the classroom.” These values of humor and safety are traits that Mary tries to bring into her teaching as well.
While on a visit to the University of Oregon, Mary fell in love with the beauty of the campus and was thrilled to become an Oregon Duck, graduating in 2014. Accepted to work for Teach for America in Memphis, Tennessee, her work with students with various developmental and learning needs instilled in her a love for teaching. Even though her students were not fully integrated in general education classrooms, they were taught life-based skills for employment and living. Mary was so dedicated to her work there, she stayed an extra year beyond her two-year commitment in order to see her core students graduate.
Mary returned to Portland and worked at St. Pius X before hearing about a job opening in the Rams Program at Central Catholic.
The Rams program, which opened its doors in 2016 offering the unique combination of integrative education and job preparedness, seemed to have been created specifically with Mary in mind. She was thrilled to put the skills she acquired during her experience at Teach for America to use in an integrated classroom environment. Ram Roast came out of the desire to give the students real world experience to practice professional skills—such as communication and customer service. Students and mentors run the coffee cart at Central Catholic, take orders, make coffee and interact with students and staff (For more information on Ram Roast CLICK HERE).
When Mary started at Central Catholic, there were four Rams students and 12 peer mentors, but with Mary’s help, the program has grown; this year we welcomed 13 Rams students and 60 peer mentors to the program.
Mary hopes the program will continue to grow and that she can help Central Catholic become a model for other Catholic schools. “I want to continue to build these connections and highlight our students. I just feel blessed to come back and be able to provide [the services] we do.”
We are so proud to have Mary back at Central Catholic, demonstrating how much can be accomplished when you approach life with passion and a courageous attitude.