Mrs. Maureen O’Donnell, born and raised in Beverly on the South Side of Chicago, returns to MC this fall to again take on the responsibility of educating the young men in the McDermott-Doyle Program. The purpose of the program is to provide support for students with specific learning disabilities.

O’Donnell previously worked at MC from 1994 to 2009, before leaving to teach/sub at Chicago Public Schools (including Sutherland and Barnard). She came back because of the sense of pride, family, and tradition that Mount Carmel has to offer. Prior to becoming a teacher, she attended undergrad at Quincy College in Quincy, Illinois. She then went on to graduate school to earn her master’s at St. Xavier in 1976.

O’Donnell noted that not a lot has changed since she last taught at MC, but that she really likes some of the upgrades to the campus. She also noted that the choir seems much improved, and that “the teachers are much younger than they used to be.”

An interesting fact about Mrs. O’Donnell is that she witnessed the horrific event of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Her daughter was running in the marathon when all of a sudden two massive strikes roared through the city of Boston, causing significant damage. Fortunately, her daughter was fine as officials evacuated the race.