Leslie Neilsen: “There’s power in numbers, and our voices and actions matter!”

I grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, a small town outside Boston. My career goal was always to be a teacher, despite my friends’ and family’s many protests.

My studies began at the University of Vermont but life took me in a different direction, and I left to begin working in the restaurant business. I worked hard and became part of management. My role as a training manager fed temporarily my desire to teach but I knew, in the long run, I wanted to teach kids in a classroom.

Then an opportunity came to finish my studies at Boston College while working full-time as a dining hall manager, and I jumped at it, taking American Studies. Two professors -- Father James Weiss, who taught theology, and Professor David Quigley, who taught history -- reinforced my desire to be in the classroom. Because Professor Quigley made history especially interesting, I took several of his courses, which set me on my path to teaching social studies. I graduated in 2005, but the pull of teaching was so strong that I returned for a master’s degree in secondary social studies.

I taught in Massachusetts for a year before the recession struck, then found myself looking for opportunities outside my state. In 2010, I came to Charlotte and began teaching social studies for CMS, moving from Garinger High to Martin Luther King Middle, then to Community House Middle, where I teach now. Though Charlotte is home to me now, my family still has a home on Cape Cod, and I try to visit there every year.

This work is a blessing. When thinking about the reminders that this is the right profession for me, it’s hard to pick one better than the response from my school community to help with my gift-card drive for Ocracoke Island School. It’s amazing to watch my kids think about others and work together toward a common goal. Teaching involves so many intangibles, and this is what keeps me coming back, year after year.

The greatest benefit I’ve received in my relationship with CMAE is knowing that there is support for teachers. There is so much negativity around our profession, and it’s nice to have the support of other educators. That’s why, when I talk to new colleagues about the future of their profession, I tell them that there are other organizations out there, but none has the commitment and shared vision that CMAE provides. I tell them there is power in numbers, and that our voices and our actions matter!