For a lot of educators, the challenge in teaching lies not just in knowing the subject matter, but in knowing how to share it.
Thankfully for Olivia Mantero, the journey at Mount Saint Mary College provided the perfect literary and teaching lens to do just that.
Mantero graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s in English and in 2023 with a master’s in Secondary Special Education via the Mount's five-year track. Now she’s a teacher at St. Andrew Academy in Bridgeport, Conn. She manages quite a diverse set of classes, teaching 5th through 8th grade ELA and 7th grade religion.
Mantero’s academic foundation was built on a dual focus that allowed her to view her passion for English through a professional pedagogical framework. By studying both the English and Teaching disciplines simultaneously, she was able to evolve from a student of literature into a teacher of it.
“Studying English helped me to look at literature differently,” she explained. “Doing it in tandem with my Education degree helped me to shift my mindset from just analysis to how I can explain this analysis to my students.”
The Mount’s rigorous education program is known for its focus on preparation, and for Mantero, the detailed requirements of the curriculum were what gave her confidence in front of a classroom.
“All the lesson plans they had us do definitely helped me to better think out what I wanted to teach and why I was teaching certain things,” she said.
This intentionality followed her into her fieldwork and student teaching. Mantero said she initially focused on high school, but found a surprising connection to middle school students during an interview process.
“As soon as I stepped into the school and I met the kids, I felt like I could really do great things at that grade level. Now I feel really connected to what I’m teaching and my students.”
Looking back on her five years at the Mount, Mantero recognizes that the high-pressure moments – like comprehensive exams and capstone projects – sometimes felt overwhelming. Her advice to current students is to maintain perspective through the difficult times, because “becoming a teacher is very worth it.”
“I was stressed out about my comprehensive exams and my capstone,” she explained. “I would really just tell [my younger self] not to stress out about that because it all works out in the end.”