Maureen Charron-Shea was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. Shea transferred to UVM as a sophomore in 1973; she has been living in Vermont ever since. She majored in communications science as an undergraduate. After college she went on to graduate school where she majored in speech-language pathology.

Shea started at Harwood in 1989, working in the Student Services Department as a speech and language pathologist. “Here I am still doing it umpteen years later. Yes I do still love it,” said Shea, adding, “I work with students who have a wide range of disabilities, students with mild articulation problems, such as a lisp. I also work with students diagnosed with dyslexia, and I work with students who have developmental disabilities or intellectual impairments. It is a very satisfying job,” said Shea.

Shea’s favorite part of her job is advising the Best Buddies Club, “This is the most fun and most rewarding. I have seen the students learn more, joining that club and doing activities than I could ever teach them. Best Buddies pairs students with a disability with a non-disabled student in a one to one friendship,” said Shea.  She also believes that with any form of education, “You get out of it what you put into it. Harwood offers a really great education here if you put effort into it, which I think is true anywhere. The art program here and the Latin program here are fantastic. It all depends on what you’re interested in. Here at Harwood you can explore what you want. It’s been great, so that is why I have stayed for so long. It has been a great place to work, good people. I have formed lifelong friendships not only faculty, but students as well.”

When asked about change within the school she said, “It used to be easier to be creative in my job when I first started. There are more rules and regulations and red tape. Though times have changed, everything is more controlled, more determined by risk management, rules and policy. I used to be able to go on a field trip, now it’s a ten page form for students.”

In retirement Shea is looking forward to keeping busy with healthy activities, such as biking and kayaking, “I want to do fun physical things, have time to read and travel, and have time to spend with my family.”