Her Story
About Mary
Mary Chouanard began her professional journey with military service after high school before transitioning to the education field in Minnesota in 2000 following the end of her enlistment. She worked days while attending night school to earn her Associate in Arts degree from a community college, followed by a Bachelor's in Psychology from Metropolitan State University and a Master's degree in students with learning disabilities from the University of St. Thomas. Over 16 years at her school district, she first served two years as a special education teacher providing reading and math intervention support to elementary students and then 14 years as an evaluation team member conducting initial evaluations and assessments to determine eligibility for services and perform required reevaluations. She attributes her success to her passion and drive for the educational field and her desire to help children and others. Mary values work-life balance and is currently exploring new opportunities in consulting and evaluations outside the school district to continue serving disadvantaged communities, including possibly veterans or families overseas.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Mary
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think just the love for the educational field, having a passion for it, having a drive. And just the children are the reasons why I went into the field is to help them. But it's really gotten difficult, so it's hard to sustain anymore. So, I would have to say, yeah, that just the passion and the drive and the want to help others.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I would say is to work hard. Not everything is unattainable if you work hard and you put your forth, your best effort. ... anybody can do it, all it takes is hard work. And I agree. Anything you want to do, if you put your mind to it, and you put your time into it.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think I would tell a young woman is just to be patient and to advocate for herself. And to educate herself, prior to going into the field she wants to be in.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is funding. The biggest opportunity is movement opportunities within different departments to educate yourself within different realms of the educational field, like becoming an instructional coach.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Having a work-life balance is very valuable. As I'm now aging, I think retirement, future retirement goals, and something that I can do to give back. I feel that I've put so much time and energy and effort into with this. It's really important for me.
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