Zoë Moynihan graduated from Holyoke High School North thinking she wanted to be a police officer—but that didn’t turn out to be her path. Her real passion lies in working with children, and she is now a grade 3 math teacher at McMahon School set to graduate in May from Mt. Holyoke College with a Masters of Arts in teaching.
Ms. Moynihan, who was born and raised in Holyoke, describes herself as a “true Holyoker” who has always wanted to help the community where she grew up. After graduating HHS North in 2015, she initially enrolled in college intending to become a police officer. By the time she graduated from Westfield State May 2022 with her Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, policing no longer felt like the right fit. Rather than entering the police academy, Ms. Moynihan decided to pursue a career that helped youth in Holyoke.
In 2022, she started work as a paraprofessional at E.N. White School. Within six months, she was approached by Principal Karyn McDermott and Assistant Principal Amy Piedra to teach a classroom. Through the Urban Teacher Pathways program, Ms. Moynihan was able to jump into a teaching role and start working on her teaching license.
Almost immediately, she realized this was the role she had been looking for: Supporting youth, building meaningful relationships, and preparing students for success in their own lives.
“I was like, ‘This is what I want to do,’” said Ms. Moynihan. “I know that I’m helping kids to grow up and be successful, and be who they want to be.”
Principal McDermott agrees. “When I hired Zoe as a paraprofessional, it did not take long to see that she was destined to be an educator. She has an incredible ability to build strong relationships with students while holding them to high expectations for both behavior and academics.”
The Urban Teacher Pathways program, offered through a partnership with Mt. Holyoke College, has helped 56 HPS staff members attain their teaching licenses since 2015. A similar partnership with Teach Western Mass has supported an additional 57 staff members in becoming teachers since 2018. These programs offer new career pathways for HPS employees and others who have already earned some college credits and now wish to pursue careers in education.
When asked her advice for others who may be considering teaching as a career path, Ms. Moynihan says that a drive to have authentic relationships with students is just as important as knowing specific subject areas. As a math teacher, she has 54 students that she sees every day, which means there are 54 unique relationships to build and cultivate.
“Teaching isn’t just knowing the content,” she said “It’s having trust in your students and your students being able to trust you. Once you get a relationship with these students, they listen to you. They come to school wanting to learn, and they come to school every day because they know that they belong.”
Ms. Moynihan hopes to see more Holyoke graduates come back to the district to teach—and model what success can look like for district students.
“I grew up the same way a lot of these students grew up, with similar struggles. I can relate to what these kids are dealing with. I grew up in the same place they are. This is important, because when I can be successful while being open about my background, kids see that they can go to college and have a great future, too.”