Cheverus Stories

Welcome to new members of the Cheverus Community:

• Victor DiSilvestro will join us to teach two sections of Chemistry. With both a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine, Orono, Victor also brings an incredible breadth of international teaching experience to our campus. He has taught both Chemistry and Biology in Costa Rica, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador and Pakistan and he spent 17 years teaching Chemistry, Biology and Algebra at Freeport High School. In the summers he is a whitewater rafting and fishing guide at The Forks in Northern Maine.
   
• Earlier this summer you may have read the announcement that Jordan Grant will serve as our Switchboard Operator/Receptionist. Jordan graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies. Jordan has coached JV girls basketball at Yarmouth High School for the past three years and will be coaching her first season at Cheverus this winter as the JV girls basketball coach and assistant Varsity coach. In the fall and spring, she helps run the Southern Maine Shock AAU program, coaching girls in grades 8-11.
   
• Fresh from his work on a Master’s in Philosophy from St. Louis University, Sean Hagerty, S.J., joins us and our Jesuit community to teach Theology. A graduate of Fordham where he played water polo and earned a degree in Political Science, Sean served our country and earned a Bronze Star Medal (combat decoration) as a Fire Support Officer in Iraq. He also spent several years working in distribution and operations for AB-Inbev before joining the Jesuits in 2012. He did his “long experiment” (an extended ministry at a Jesuit apostolate) at McQuaid Jesuit, a college preparatory high school in Rochester.
   
• We are very pleased to welcome Fr. Bob Levens, S.J., as our Faculty Chaplain. Some of you may remember Fr. Levens from his time as the Provincial of the New England Province of Jesuits. He most recently worked as the President and Rector at the Campion Health Center for Jesuits in Weston, Massachusetts. He has had three different stints at Fairfield Prep: first as a layperson teaching Math in the late 1960s; then as a Jesuit teaching Theology in the 1980s; and, finally, as their Faculty Chaplain from 2004-2010.
   
• Covering two sections of Human Anatomy & Physiology, Jen Lafrance brings experience from the real world to her Science classroom. Jen spent 13 years as a Chemist and Research Scientist for Tom’s of Maine before making the jump to the world of education. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Southern Maine and did her teacher certification work at the University of New England. She has taught at Cape Elizabeth High School and most recently at St. James School in Biddeford.
   
• Having spent much of the past decade teaching both French and English language learners in and around Boston, Haley Malm takes over our French classes this fall. With a Bachelor’s degree in French from Vassar College and a Master’s in Education from Boston University, Haley has taught at the middle school (Fuller Middle in Framingham, MA), high school (Codman Academy Charter in Dorchester, MA) and college levels (Northeastern University). She has also served as an English Language Learning Consultant for WriteBoston.
   
• Elizabeth M. Woodcock joins the Cheverus Advancement team as our Leadership Gifts Officer and will be responsible for seeking leadership support for capital projects, endowment initiatives, and The Cheverus Fund. Elizabeth comes to us from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, where she served for eight years, first as Director of Annual Giving and then as Director of Stewardship Programs and Advancement Services. Prior to that, she served as Assistant Director and then Associate Director of Annual Giving at her alma mater, Bowdoin College. Elizabeth graduated from Bowdoin with a degree in Spanish and Art History.
   
• Connie Zhu will teach one section of Mandarin Chinese this year, and we hope that her skill and enthusiasm for the language and culture of China will be a catalyst to grow the study of Chinese in our school. Connie earned her Bachelor’s degree from University of Southern Maine and an MFA from University of Oregon, and has also studied at New York University and Fudan University, Shanghai. She has experience teaching a variety of subjects at both the high school and college levels, including teaching Chinese at both Colby College and Waynflete School. You can catch “DJ Connie” on WMPG as she hosts a weekly Chinese music show, Ba Yin Box.