New instructors at Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School are paired with a staff member as a mentor to help with adjustment to the school.
When teacher Rob Carrig met the woman for whom he was selected to become a mentor, it wasn’t their first classroom experience.
During the 2005-06 school year, in his World History class at Hillsborough High School, Mr. Carrig taught a freshman named Meghan O’Reilly. Ten years later, she has now become Mr. Carrig’s mentee at SCVTHS.
After high school, Ms. O’Reilly went on to graduate with a bachelor of arts in history and a master of arts in teaching with a concentration in secondary social studies from James Madison University. She spent the past year in Louisiana teaching 8th grade students for the Teach For America program, before returning to Somerset County.
Ms. O’Reilly spoke of how she has already come to enjoy SCVTHS, as there is a sense of camaraderie she did not previously have in her other teaching experience.
Through the mentorship program, Ms. O’Reilly and Mr. Carrig meet on a weekly basis to discuss lesson plans, methods and strategies.
