A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E - Colby-Sawyer College

Soul Food
When Ann bumped into Matt Neary
again on the Metro North while commuting
to Manhattan, it had been
years since they had parted ways
after their college romance. Matt, a
periodontist, had three children from
his first marriage, and Ann had Emily
from hers. They married and had
twins, Paige and Mack, now 14 and
champion water polo players—Ann’s
best friend Sue was again her labor
coach and is the twins’ and Emily’s
godmother. Ann traded the train ride
to New York for a short drive to
Ghurka and balanced work with raising
her family and volunteering in
her town, serving on various boards
and teaching Sunday School.
“It’s important for me to love what I do,” Neary says of
Ghurka, a family-owned business that at the time still created
their leather goods by hand in Connecticut. But fine things lose
their shine when towers crumble.
“I had an epiphany during the year following 9/11,” says
Neary. “Matt and I were very involved in the work that went
on after that. Matt is a forensics specialist and was down at the
morgue once a week all night identifying remains. Through my
church I volunteered once a week for a year at St. Paul’s Chapel
near Ground Zero for a 12-hour shift overnight. I helped feed
the workers and did whatever I could. All those late nights
made me think about what’s important, and selling yet another
fabulous business bag to a man so he looked good at a meeting
really wasn’t what I wanted to do anymore. What I really
liked was working with kids. I like listening to them, hearing
their stories. I like giving them a place where they can tell their
stories.”
Neary, whose own father had changed careers to follow
his dream to become an Episcopalian priest at age 68, took a
hard look at the possibilities and decided to return to graduate
school at age 50. With her family’s support, she enrolled
in Manhattanville College’s accelerated teaching certification
program in February and was ready to teach in September.
“When she went back to school we’d do homework together,”
says daughter Emily. “It was fun to see her start teaching.
She got really into it.”
Six years ago, teachers were in short supply, especially in
New York City schools. When Neary completed some of her
required observation hours at DeWitt Clinton High, she was
“blown away” by the phenomenal, creative teachers she met
24 COLBY-SAWYER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Colby-Sawyer taught Neary the importance of individual
instruction, and now she makes sure to get to know all her
students and their abilities.
and decided it was the school for her.
“I pursued an assistant principal
until she had to hire me. I used all
my business skills,” Neary laughs. “I
called, followed up, sent my resume,
kept asking if there was a job. I had
a contract from New York City and
they can place you anywhere they
want, so I was getting anxious. When
you’re in business you don’t take a
job until you have the next one, so
the fact that I could have a job but
didn’t know where, and might not
know, until the day before school
opened, was nerve wracking. Then
DeWitt called and said they had a
job for me in September. She asked
when I could sign the papers? I was
supposed to go on vacation that afternoon
but I said, ‘I’ll come now!’ I’ve been here ever since.”
Neary has always excelled at everything she does, due to
her boundless energy and enthusiasm, her friend Sue Warner
says, but deciding to teach made perfect sense. “Ann was great
at retail, but it didn’t feed her soul. Teaching the kids at DeWitt
Clinton has given her amazing, creative mind and caring
nature a terrific—and very productive—outlet,” Warner says.
“She’s so much happier and has made a huge contribution in a
relatively short time in the profession.”
Where the Boys (and Girls) Are
“Teaching is very exciting. I like there to be something interesting
every single day and that’s where teaching mirrors the retail
world,” says Neary. “I never know when I open the door what
the kids are going to come in like. Your plans could go right out
the window because someone’s been burned out of their apartment
or their mother got arrested over the weekend. They don’t
have dads. They come in with amazing stories.”
As Neary talks, her silver cross necklace catches the light,
and her charm bracelet jingles. One of the charms is engraved
with the word Hope, an emotion that fuels her work as a
teacher and which she senses and seeks to sustain in her students.
Though their daily concerns often revolve around the
most basic human needs for food, shelter and safety, Neary
Right: Neary’s creative writing class shared their original
fiction about “Hanging Onto a Dream” and discussed the big
difference that small details can make in a piece of writing.