Teacher's Journeys
By Gen Claudio, Staff Writer
April 29, 2022
Alanna Keady grew up and still lives in Norwood. She attended Cleveland Elementary School and Coakley Middle School. Her dream as a child was to become a vet like many children. She graduated from Norwood High School in 2014. During her high school experience she was always been on the track and cross country team and was even the captain of the girl's cross country team.
After high school she attended Merrimack College with the intention of becoming an athletic trainer. She soon realized that that was not the route she wanted to take and decided she wanted to become a physical therapist.
Her mother is a teacher at the Balch elementary school and shortly after debating her majors throughout college her mom influenced her to look into the education field. She went back to Merrimack College for her masters in exercise science. Most of her courses consisted of anatomy and learning the way the body works and the reaction to motion.
“My biggest regret is bouncing around my majors instead of sticking to one,” Keady says.
In 2019, she got a job at NHS as an aid in Mr. Sarianides' History class. After 2 years, she was offered a job offer as a full-time Wellness teacher. After passing her MTEL's she became Norwood high's newest gym teacher.
This is Keady's first year as a full-time gym teacher and she loves it.
“The best part of my job has to be the bonds I've created with all my students and being able to be there for them and listen to them,” said Keady.
“After school and during my free time I enjoy going to the gym, spending time with my significant other and going into Boston.”
Tyler Goncalves, otherwise known as Mr. G or, (as many of his former students from his first year at NHS still like to call him,) Senor. Like Alanna Keady, Goncalves also grew up in Norwood his whole life and graduated from NHS in 2013.
As a child, Goncalves wanted to become a professional soccer player and has played the sport ever since he was 4 years old. When he hit high school, soccer was still his passion and he played for the NHS boy's soccer team all four years.
He earned a scholarship to College of the Holy Cross for soccer and didn't really enjoy it so he then transferred to MassBay Community College for a year and studied accounting. After finishing up at MassBay, he transferred to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
While still playing soccer he realized what he really enjoyed was history. Growing up, he didn’t really enjoy school until his sophomore year. He attributes his passion to his former teacher, Mrs. Eliza Crimmings.
"She was like my school mom. Not only did she deepen my passion for history but she was always someone I could go to for anything,¨ Goncalves said.
He was always engaged in history. He loved learning more and would help grade exams and map quizzes with Crimmings. So when he was in college and didn't really know what he wanted to do in the future he knew that majoring in history was something he'd love without a doubt
His senior year in college, Goncalves attended professional soccer tryouts in Portugal and stayed for 3 weeks and got the offer to stay. He rejected the offer because he wanted to finish college and be the first to graduate in his family. When he came back home he pushed through and graduated that year.
His first year out of college he became a gym teacher for pre-k through grade 8 and he taught one grade 6 history class at St. Catherine's in Norwood.
In 2018, Goncalves started teaching at NHS. In December of 2019 he completed his masters degree
"My biggest regret is not staying my 5th year at UMass because I got an offer to be the kicker on the football team and I think that would have been really cool" he said.
Outside of teaching, Goncalves coaches the girls soccer team.
"I like playing basketball for fun. I also enjoy napping¨ Goncalves said,
Julie Treloar was born in Pawtucket, RI and grew up in a small Italian town, Johnston RI.
As a kid, Treloar wanted to be a journalist. In high school, she participated in many clubs.
After graduating high school she went on to double major in English and Psychology at Syracuse University. Her mother was a really big influence as she is an English professor at Johnson and Wales University.
During Treloar's senior year at Syracuse she knew she wanted to be an education major, but dropped out of the program senior year because she didn't enjoy the program Syracuse offered. That's the year she traveled abroad and went to London.
¨I wish I took the risk and went a little further instead of London,¨ Treloar said.
Treloar graduated from Syracuse University with a double major in English and Psychology, and a minor in Education.
After graduating, she immediately went on to attend grad school at Boston College. Treloar lived in an apartment in Boston during her time in grad school. She graduated in 2005 with a masters in Education and the following year was student teaching here at NHS.
In 2007 Treloar became a full-time English teacher.
From 2015-2019 she also taught a basic English writing class at Johnson and Wales University.
¨I enjoyed that period of my life, I felt like I was following in my mom's footsteps walking down those campus halls," she said
¨My favorite part being a teacher is definitely all the bonds I have with all of my students,¨ Treloar said.
In her free time she enjoys cross stitching, travel, and running.
Born in Louisiana from a Navy family, Jennifer Harnett has lived in many different places. She moved to Rockland, MA at the age of five.
At a young age Hartnett wanted to be a singer for Disney and wanted to translate in many different languages for other kids around the world.
She grew up attending the Rockland school system until she graduated high school. She then attended Bridgewater State university but at the time it was much smaller and was actually a college.
She majored in computer science and switched her major at 18 without telling her parents.
She changed her major to music bachelor in vocal performance and when her parents found out they were very understanding.
While in college she was a sales associate at American Eagle in Braintree and after some time became the key holder, assistant manager, and then became the store manager for the district of south shore.
After graduating college, Hartnett worked full time at American Eagle.
She then attended grad school in 2004 at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. After two years she graduated with a masters degree in music and choral conducting.
During grad school she was working full time at an American Eagle in Texas .
In her masters she learned about performance skills and the techniques of singing.
¨I had no intentions of ever becoming a high school teacher, but I did see myself becoming a professor,¨ she said.
Hartnett's friends, however, saw what Hartnett didn't.
¨[Cathy Connor-]Moen told me I should be a teacher and I laughed in her face and said no,¨ said Hartnett.
But her initial disinterest didn't last long. After Moen's insistence, Hartnett got her certificate in teaching and got a job offer.
Hartnett taught grades 5-12 at Rodger Middle School teaching general music. She also taught 4 choruses.
She later applied to Walpole High and Norwood High and got both jobs but chose Norwood.
Since 2015, Hartnett has been the director of choral activities.
¨I have no regrets. The experience I gained from my journey I never saw coming¨ Hartnett said.
After laughing off the thought of becoming a teacher, Hartnett has come to love the profession.
¨The relationships I have with my student is without question the best part of my job¨ she said.
In her free time she enjoys hiking.
¨Me and my husband have been to almost every state park in Mass,¨ said Hartnett.
