Ms. Neely is the current Junior and Freshman vice principal of Oliver Ames High School that has recently returned from her first admin job, in Mansfield, after being a Spanish teacher for 16 years.
Ms. Neely started her college career expecting to be a journalist. She picked her major because of her bubbly and outgoing personality.
“So I started off, like, thinking I wanted to be a journalist. My internship was at the Boston Globe, and I was a court reporter, and I was terrible at it. I went from being like, in high school, the person that always got A’s in writing. Then I went to college, and when my A’s turned into C’s, I was not the best because now I was surrounded by other English majors.”
Her teaching career did not come until later in life. She pursued many other careers before settling on being a Spanish teacher. Ms. Neely was encouraged to be a teacher because of her natural talent for socializing and teaching others. She smiles before replying.
“I actually wasn’t a teacher until I was 30, until I was working in HR, at a law firm in Boston, but I wasn’t happy. The happiest time that I had was when we would hire new associates, for new first year attorneys, and I’d have to do orientation in a conference room with a PowerPoint. I’d be like, you know, we’re gonna fill out your benefits. And it would be like teaching. I’m at the front of the classroom and I’m telling you how to do stuff. That was the happiest part of my job, so that inspired me to become a teacher.”
Throughout her life, Ms. Neely loved to be a helper. She found purpose in helping people and making a positive impact on someone’s life. She beams with pride when she talks about being an administrator.
“I think that I became an admin because I wanted to see if I could help at a higher level, students. It feels good when a kid comes in and says, ‘Hey, like, I feel like nobody’s listening to me, and I need help with this.’ I get to use my position to be like, ‘Alright, we’re going to have a meeting, and we’re going to help this kid.’ So like, being able to, like, help kids is like, when I go home and I’m like, I did good today.”
After Ms. Neely established herself as a Spanish teacher, she found herself wanting a new challenge. She determined that the new challenge would be an administration job. She inhales before answering.
“I hadn’t been to an interview in 16 years, so I was just testing it out. Then I was lucky enough to get a job at Mansfield, which is our neighbor, and it’s very similar to our town and the transition was good. I feel like the Mansfield community was like a good fit for me and the kids were a good fit for me,” she said.
Oliver Ames has always been Ms. Neely’s home. She constantly thinks about the lives she’s touched throughout her career.
“What made it hard was that kids are my favorite humans. I missed, very much, the connection that I had with kids here at OA. Walking through the halls and not knowing a single kid’s name killed me, you know, being a stranger was tough.”
She missed the students and faculty. Ms. Neely is a friendly face to many people in the build and values connection with her community. She recalls a few memories with a tender smile on her face.
“I miss these people. I miss these faces. Like, I miss fighting with Mr. Sharkey. I missed so many people. Seeing a whole bunch of kids like that, I just took it for granted, like, when I was here, like, you know, you don’t realize that you kids mean so much to me, until you leave them, and then you miss them a ton.”
When Ms. Neely got the job at Mansfield she had a choice to take a chance and leave OA or just stay in her comfort zone. One thing about Ms. Neely is that she loves to be in uncomfortable situations. She learns best when she is fully invested in a project.
“So, like, you have to get a new license to be a principal and you do all this work, and then you have a choice, right? You either sit on it, right, and wait and wait for a potential opportunity to come up. But it could come up in a year, could come up in 20 years or you get up and do it, or you get up and say, ‘I’m gonna go be uncomfortable. I’m gonna leave my comfort zone and I’m gonna try to do it somewhere new.’”
After staying at OA for 16 years, Ms. Neely wanted to take another chance. She got her education in Education Administration. She took a leap of faith in pursuing this new job.
“So I had nothing to lose, right? If they take me, they take me, and if they don’t, I’m so happy at OA, it doesn’t even matter. Did I totally believe I was going to get this job? No, I didn’t. I didn’t think they were going to hire me, but they did. And then, then, then that was scary.”
As an administrator, Ms. Neely has personal ideas and goals for Oliver Ames. She has been observing the shift away from college. She wants to support that shift in her time here at OA.
“That I feel like there’s a cultural shift away from college, not that college is bad. I think that it is unrealistic to believe that college is meant for every single person. One of the most successful friends never went to college and he’s very, very successful,” she said.”I am so proud of him. I look at his story and I’m and I am so proud of him. We need to encourage kids like him that they are not meant for the traditional college track. We need to have more opportunities.”
Ms. Neely has acquired so much knowledge throughout her career. She wanted to share one piece of advice to the Oliver Ames students and faculty. She smiles widely while sharing.
“Take advantage of every moment, dance, if you have the opportunity to dance. I feel like we go to dances, and the kids are all like, serious, and they never want to dance. And it’s like you should be having the time of your life. High school is such a special moment in your life, but it’s truly a moment you should remember. Just be in it, have a good time.”
