Tracey Kearney '01, '24 felt stuck in her job, and then strangely liberated when she lost it. That left her with the question, "What's next?" For the second time in Tracey's life, she turned to Siena for the answer.
Tracey was a really good middle school history teacher. She didn't just teach her students about Archduke Ferdinand's assassination (and the war to end all wars that followed); she made his century-old story relatable. She described Franz Ferdinand's taboo love with Sophie and complex relationship with his uncle. She made the history lesson fun. Along the way, though, it stopped being fun for her.
"You can take a lesson plan out of the binder and teach it and put it back for a year, and that's fine, but I wanted to challenge myself. I asked if I could teach a different grade or a different subject, but I was told I was good where I was."
Since 2015, Tracey felt like she was in a professional rut. Just before the start of the pandemic, she switched schools, and then in the transition to remote learning she lost her job in a 'last one in, first one out' scenario. More than 20 years earlier, she was attending community college, unhappy, and unsure of her professional ambitions. At that time, she made the decision to transfer to Siena because she weekly visited an aunt in Loudonville and was familiar with the area. That experience, two decades prior, worked out really well. So, she tried it again.
Tracey's husband, Tom Callan, is the College's instructional media engineer. They kicked around different majors, but nothing clicked until a chance encounter with the former director of the Baldwin School of Nursing, Dr. Lisa Lally.
"She asked me if I had ever thought about nursing, and I told her, 'Not really.' But I figured, 'How hard could it be?' Famous last words."
Truthfully, Tracey had considered medicine, briefly, a quarter century prior. In high school, she thought about becoming a doctor, but a mediocre score on the biology regents exam rocked her confidence. She ultimately pivoted to political science, then earned her master's in education. She didn't give medicine another thought, until that chat with Dr. Lally.
Two years later, Tracey graduated this month with her associate's degree from Maria College. She'll finish her BS in nursing and BA in psychology next spring, and then she'll have some decisions to make. Not long ago, Tracey had no idea what she wanted to do – and now she's having a hard time narrowing it down.
Teaching and nursing are both noble vocations (it's not surprising a Saint would gravitate to both). Tracey enjoyed the challenge of helping students, and as a second-time college student, she couldn't let go of the teacher inside her. Last year, Tracey worked as a commuter transition specialist, and paired with several nursing students, she mentored them through their transition into the program. She also helped to develop a mentorship committee with the Student Nurse Association, and in several ways, she's advocated for adult learners. She may consider a career as a psychiatric nurse, but faculty at Maria and in the Baldwin School of Nursing have pitched a different idea.
"Many of them have told me that I should teach nursing. Most educators in nursing are nurses first, then they learn to teach through that lens. I am a rare breed as an educator first. This allows me a perspective to break things down in a different way especially for those who are struggling. I have experience in helping them to achieve that knowledge. That is how I am able to resonate with students. You have to be able to make that connection with them first."
In the meantime, her family has told her, lovingly, "Congratulations! Now get a job." Saratoga Hospital and Albany Med are both options, and when she finishes her bachelor's next year, who knows? Maybe she'll end up back at Siena teaching, a prospect that Tracey says "would be such an honor." Right now, though, there is one future Saint in particular she hopes to inspire.
Tracey and Tom have a 13-year-old son, Thomas. He's determined to attend Siena after high school, and Tracey hopes her journey only fuels that fire.
"There are times he'll come to campus and eat lunch in his dad's office. He definitely wants to go to school here, but he'll have to work hard. I hope I've been a role model to him. I wanted him to see that you need to make plans in life, pursue them, and balance your responsibilities. I'm excited to watch him find his passion and chase his dreams."
Tracey Kearney '01, '24
