November 2015
n
Beachwood Buzz
7
CARRIE (GELLIN) SHAPIRO, Class of 2003
D
uring her years at BHS, if
someone had told Carrie,
age 30, that she'd be returning
here as a high school English
teacher one day, she'd have said,
"No way." That disbelief covers
both being in education and
working in Beachwood. "It never
crossed my mind that I'd be a
teacher." And Chicago was where
she found the gateway to her
initial career in publishing.
Her path home, however, was
slightly circuitous, as many are.
After her BHS graduation, she at-
tended Indiana University where
she earned a B.A. in English and
communications. She says she
was staying true to her passion
which lay in literature.
"I was in love with books," she
explains, but....not so much with
her first job. She worked for three
years as an in-house publicist at
Sourcebooks, where she handled
many genres, including cook-
books, young adult fiction and
college guides. Eventually, how-
ever, she became disillusioned.
"It wasn't a good fit. I didn't
like being stuck in a cubicle, and I
didn't enjoy the nature of my work."
The notion of teaching, at that point, dawned on her when she
realized she wanted to be working at a job where connection and
communication with others are key components. Teaching also pro-
vides a creative outlet, which is a priority, and no day is the ever the
same, she adds.
She enrolled at the University of Illinois in Chicago where she
earned an M.A. in education and a teaching certificate. She was then
hired at an inner-city school, on the north side of Chicago.
"It was a tough place," she recalls of her three years there, noting
that it taught her a great deal about classroom management. "It was
a real roller coaster I had some of the best and worst moments, and
I learned from my mistakes." But most of all, she connected with her
classes.
"I loved my students," she says of the diverse population, including
many foreign cultures and languages.
It was her husband's career transition early this year that drew the
couple back to Cleveland, compelling Carrie to look for a teaching job
in town. When she heard that there was an opening at BHS to teach
English to 9th and 10th graders, she says she wanted the position
very badly. She reports being intensely nervous when she inter-
viewed with her former English teacher, Evan Luzar, but she tried not
to show it. "He treated me like a colleague, which helped."
Being back has given rise to many flashbacks to her experiences
here, which makes her feel sentimental and nostalgic. But she also
remembers how hard it is to be a teenager. "If I had known then what
I know now, I would have worked a lot harder," she admits.
She is quick to note the differences between BHS and her Chicago
environment, particularly with respect to resources like the internet
and to small class size here. "We shouldn't take anything for granted."
In her classroom at BHS, she tends to structure her methods
according to how she learned them in her Master's program and
through her student teaching. In other words, she's not copying her
experiences here. "I like trying new approaches."
While attending BHS, Carrie served as a drill team co-captain; she
played softball and was involved with the yearbook and literary jour-
nal. She says she especially enjoyed becoming very involved with the
high school community through her extra-curriculars.
Now she brings her wisdom and experience to bear on students
through additional contact with them by working as advisor to the
Class of 2018.
By June Scharf
Returning to their alma mater was no accident for a handful of BHS graduates. In fact,
all of them feel a special connection with this community, and when they learned of
openings in their fields, they seized the opportunity to apply. All have had experiences
outside the district, providing a basis for comparison and offering further insight into
Beachwood's strengths. And, not insignificantly, they all learned to overcome their
universal discomfort of calling their former teachers by their first names. Superintendent
Bob Hardis says, "I'm thrilled for our students that the roads of these four alumni led back
to Beachwood. They each expressed how much this community had invested in them
and now, they have the opportunity to pay it forward."
Here they share their paths through near and distant
forests, back to the `wood.
BHS Grads Filled with Bison Spirit
Over Their Return to District
Noting the differences
between BHS and an
inner-city Chicago school
where she previously
taught, particularly with
respect to resources
like the Internet and to
small class size here: "We
shouldn't take anything
for granted."
DAMION CREEL, Class of 1994
D
amion Creel is the new head
football coach and physical
education teacher at the Middle
School. His presence heralds the
return of a champion, being the
sole BHS athlete to ever earn 1st
Team All Ohio Honors in two
sports, both baseball and football.
He was a four-year quarterback,
and he also played basketball
here.
His arrival comes after serving
six seasons with the national-
ly-ranked Glenville football team
as an offensive coordinator, with
some time also spent serving as a
defensive coordinator. Prior to that
post, he was a quarterback coach
at St. Edward's, and he also held
coaching positions in Cleveland
Heights, Richmond Heights and
Bedford. For the past 10 years, he
has been the director of the sum-
mer Beachwood Sports Camp.
After graduating from BHS, he
played football and baseball at
Hiram College where he earned a
B.A. degree in education.
He takes his new roles in the
district very seriously, leaving
him little time for flashbacks, but
those years here helped mold and
inspire him, he says.
"I'm charting new waters now,
and I'm trying to create great
opportunities and experiences for
the kids. I don't think about myself.
It's the kids that I'm focused on,
making sure their needs are met
and protected."
He does, however, describe a
surreal feeling when returning to
the fields. But now, at age 39 21
years later he finds it hard to
remember much from those days.
"I thought I'd be able to recall a lot
more."
Although, what he doesn't
remember, some others do. And
his students have been asking his
former teachers about his past.
Dee Milne, currently a substitute
teacher, is one who has tagged
certain memories and gladly
shares them with the kids.
"I was small and skinny, so she
wanted me to be a kicker, not a
quarterback and receiver. She
didn't want me to get hurt, and
she told me that. Now the kids
know, too," he says with some
amusement.
Since his time at BHS, he says
the whole school system is differ-
ent. "It's a lot more diverse, and
that's great to see."
While he can identify many
differences between his previous
work environment at Glenville and
Beachwood, some things remain
consistent. "The kids all have
social, emotional and academic
needs."
Creel says his most immediate
goal involves fundamental trans-
formation. "I want the football pro-
gram here at Beachwood to mean
something. I want the program to
be important to the school and
the community. I've learned from
great people both what to do
and what not to do. I can really
spread my wings here."
"It's a lot more diverse,
and that's great to see."