Alum a College Art Professor
Kerry Roeder was awarded a Ph.D. in art history last spring by the University of Delaware. This fall, she'll be teaching a 19th century American art course at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Ms. Roeder, a 1993 Huntington High School graduate, participated in the Huntington School District's SEARCH (Scholastic Enrichment and Resource for the Children in Huntington) program. In the years following her high school graduation, she earned an undergraduate degree at Trinity College and a master's at the University of Maryland, where she also worked as a teaching assistant.
After being awarded a Ph.D. last spring, Ms. Roeder, who is married and the mother of two young children, reached out to Maryann Daly, Huntington SEARCH program chairperson-teacher. "I know my mother has been e-mailing you recently, reporting on my academic accomplishments and so forth - a touch embarrassing, but sweet nonetheless to have my mom acting as my cheerleader/press agent," the alum wrote.
"I just wanted to write to thank you and tell you what a tremendous impact your teaching had on me," Ms. Roeder told Mrs. Daly via e-mail. "To this day, the SEARCH classes are among my best memories of elementary school. It was such a challenging and creative space, and a window onto all the interesting things that the world had to offer. From the weekly logic puzzles, to the longer projects like the mock trial, the class excited me like nothing else and I am so relieved to know that in this era of budget cutbacks that the program continues."
Ms. Roeder said she recently came across author David Macaulay's book, Motel of the Mysteries, at a used bookstore. "It was a book that I adored reading in SEARCH and I had to buy it so that I can read it to my own children one day," the new college professor said. "I loved its wit and absurdity, but also the larger message about the importance of questioning one's assumptions, and as a historian it is a lesson that I always need to be mindful of."
It came as a surprise to Ms. Roeder that even after a quarter-of-a-century had passed, Mrs. Daly still remembered her. When she stands before her college students, the alum will carry a little piece of Huntington with her. "I will do my best to channel the creativity and inspiration that you brought to your classes," the Huntington grad told her former SEARCH teacher.