Doctoral Student Accepts Award for Excellence in Education

Middle school students nominate teacher Caitlin O’Keefe for her engaging teaching style

Sacred Heart University student Caitlin O’Keefe, who is working on her doctoral degree in educational leadership (Ed.D.), has received Connecticut’s Excellence in Social Studies Education Award.

According to the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies website, the award recognizes the work of “exceptional classroom social studies teachers” in elementary, middle or junior high and high schools.”

O’Keefe is originally from Newtown, but she grew up living all over the world, moving frequently due to her father’s job. She found passion for social studies, history and learning about other cultures in these years and gives credit to her teachers for helping her through the tough transitions of changing school in her formative years.

She admires her mother, too, as a role model. “She is extremely hard working. My mother’s side of the family grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and she made her own way. She was the first one in her family to go to college, and she was the person who instilled in me a strong work ethic. My mom taught me to do as much as I can for other people and to work hard for what I earn,” O’Keefe said.

Beginning her teaching career

Returning to her Connecticut roots, O’Keefe became a teacher at Bethel Middle School. “I volunteered in public schools as a tutor, and I realized how much I loved working with kids,” she said.

O’Keefe began her studies at Sacred Heart after her administrator in Bethel advised her that she “would make a great administrator one day.” In SHU’s Ed.D. program, she realized what an impact she can make on schools, children and the community.

O’Keefe earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and religion from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. She went on to pursue her master’s degree in secondary education at Fairfield University and attended Sacred Heart for her administrative certification (092) and sixth-year certificate. Her concentration in the Ed.D. program is social-emotional learning, and she expects to graduate in May.

O’Keefe described her experience at Sacred Heart as “incredible” and some of the best years she has spent in higher education. It changed her approach with her students and her teaching style, incorporating real-world, hands-on experiences, she said. It also has provided many opportunities, as she is a part of the first Ed.D. cohort and class.

“I met David Title, director of the Ed.D. program. He really inspired me to push the boundaries and emphasized how important that is. I knew when he was creating the doctoral program that I had to pursue it,” O’Keefe said. “I do attribute a lot of my growth in the past couple of years to my program, my family, my co-workers and my doctoral cohort. They push me to become a better educator, and I couldn’t have made it through the last year without them.”

Title thinks well of O’Keefe, as well. “Caitlin O’Keefe has been a thoughtful and accomplished scholar-practitioner at the Isabelle Farrington College of Education,” he said. “I have had the pleasure of serving as her professor during her sixth-year certificate in educational administration, and as her dissertation chair in our doctoral program. Throughout this time, she has demonstrated intelligence, compassion and a desire to improve her practice. I cannot think of a more deserving award recipient than Ms. O’Keefe.”

O’Keefe was nominated for the award by several of her students who appreciated her engaging teaching style.

“To be honest, I really don’t like being in the spotlight at all,” said O’Keefe. “However, my students are the reason I received this award. Last year was the hardest time to be a teacher because of the pandemic. Between in-person and in-home teaching, it was so challenging, and it tested us in ways we never had been challenged before. It is an honor, and I am so extremely humbled by it.”

O’Keefe is the coach for Bethel’s middle school and high school National History Bowl team. She also oversees the Bethel Middle School Ambassadors and its Girl Up program. At home, she is the mother of two sons, 6-year-old Owen and 3-year-old Jameson.

Visit SHU’s Farrington College of Education webpage to learn more about its programming.