Spotlight on Teachers: Mrs. Mahoney

A teacher is often described as a person who is responsible for instilling knowledge in younger generations. However, some teachers believe they are obligated to go beyond their job title and teach their students life skills and lessons on morality. Mrs. Mahoney has been a teacher for over 27 years; 20 of these years having been spent here at John Jay. She has made it her personal mission to touch the hearts of many teenagers that she has taught and coached. For many years, Mrs. Mahoney has been the coach of the girls varsity volleyball team, leading them to many regular season wins. Not only does she take part in teaching and coaching, but she has also been the junior class advisor for some years now. In her role as junior class advisor, she has created a sort of tradition here at John Jay; this tradition is Spike Fest. 

Spike Fest is a junior class fundraiser for which numerous teams are formed of no more than 12 students at 5 dollars each to partake in a volleyball tournament. The winners of these tournaments usually go on to play against the girls varsity volleyball team, and, if they win, are awarded t-shirts. This tournament has been a huge hit with the student population, especially the upperclassmen who have a volleyball tournament the quarter prior in gym class. 

Mrs. Mahoney is not only involved in the school community, but the local community as well. Mrs. Mahoney is on various town boards including the recreational board, the planning and advisory committee, and the bike path Rail Trail committee. As Mrs. Mahoney’s job title is a Global Studies teacher, she finds herself very passionate and engaged in civil service and community engagement. 

After retirement she plans to take some time for herself to relax and de-stress. But once she is rested and ready, she plans to re-engage herself in the John Jay community. It is Mrs. Mahoney’s hope to return to the original passions and dreams she had for her life, urban planning, which was her first undergraduate major. 

Because of Mrs. Mahoney’s passion and dedication to engaging young adults and teenagers in the community, she hopes to be a connection for our district to make it easier for students to become more active and involved members of our community. She eventually plans to reach out to clubs like Interact who are focused on community service in order to have a connection to students who may share in her passions. She hopes to be able to show teenagers at an early age the value of community engagement and being a good citizen. 

Mrs. Mahoney has many passions, one being her passion for athletics. As stated prior, she has been greatly involved in the girls varsity volleyball team for many years. She intends to continue coaching until she finds a suitable replacement who cares just as much as she does about her team. She has fostered such a strong connection with her underclassmen athletes that she would not be able to live with herself if she left them behind. 

In Mrs. Mahoney’s last year of teaching, she no longer taught any Honors level classes, which was a large adjustment for her. More bad days than good have come from this year, but she has been trying to look to the brighter side of things. She has always tried to focus on the good kids, the kids who value their learning but are disrupted by those who do not care for school. She wants the students she has taught to remember her in a good way and not as a “grouchy old mom.” As she has been going through rough day after rough day, she has taken the initiative to redirect her students by teaching a lesson on gratitude. Through this, she hopes to teach her students moral lessons that will help them to remember her as a more fulfilling and valuable teacher. She wishes that her students would focus on the blessings and she hopes to learn to do the same alongside them.

Mrs. Mahoney’s legacy of involvement in the John Jay community has been imperative and her passion is crucial to the impact that she has made over the years. This impact will evidently be long lasting and hopefully expanded through her work in our local community.