By Molly Petrilla<\/p>\n
Marissa Muoio \u201912\/M.A. \u201914\/Ed.D. \u201919 never pictured herself at an all-girls high school. She loved sports, and most of her friends were boys. But the strong softball team at Mount St. Dominic Academy, a girls school in Caldwell, enticed her to at least check things out.
\nBy the end of her initial visit, Muoio was convinced: \u201cThis is the place for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
And she remains a part of the all-girls experience today. As head of the upper school at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Princeton, Muoio is now on the other side of the desk, working to ensure that current and future generations can have an all-girls Catholic school education like the one she did.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the power of an all-girls space is really helping students find their voice,\u201d she says, \u201cand that\u2019s still so needed in this world.\u201d Whether it\u2019s speaking up in class or trying out a new sport for the first time, Muoio believes her students are more likely to take risks big and small when they\u2019re among only other girls.<\/p>\n
It also means that every leadership post \u2014 heading up the mock trial team, running model United Nations, serving on student government \u2014 is held by a girl. \u201cAnd in the classroom, every single hand raised and called on is a girl, every conversation is led by a girl,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
Stuart\u2019s status as a Sacred Heart school allows it to infuse another layer of impact, too, according to Muoio. \u201cServing girls, we see the rates of anxiety and depression and the pressures that they\u2019re facing,\u201d she says. \u201cHaving the spiritual component to lean on \u2014 I\u2019ve seen it make a real difference in the lives of students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her own Catholic schooling experience started long before she enrolled at Mount St. Dominic \u2014 \u201cI\u2019ve been educated in Catholic schools since I was 3 years old,\u201d she says \u2014 and it extended to her university education at Seton Hall.<\/p>\n
She came in through the six-year speech pathology program, but ultimately stuck with a bachelor\u2019s degree in elementary and special education. A walk-on for the girls\u2019 softball team, Muoio grew close to Matt Geibel and Amanda DiDonato in the Office of Academic Support Services for Student-Athletes. As her graduation date neared, they encouraged her to apply for a graduate assistantship position in their office.<\/p>\n
She spent the next two years in that post, tutoring student-athletes and simultaneously earning a master\u2019s in library media studies. She continued straight into the doctor of education program for K-12 administration while also working at Mount St. Dominic Academy as a library media specialist and then dean of academics. \u201cI had incredible mentors at Seton Hall and I truly loved going to class,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
In her post at Stuart, Muoio often finds herself drawing on the principles of servant-leadership that she absorbed during her decade at Seton Hall. When anyone approaches her with a problem, whether it\u2019s a faculty member, a student or a family, her first instinct is to ask herself, \u201cHow can I serve this person best?\u201d<\/p>\n
Seton Hall\u2019s motto, Hazard Zet Forward<\/em> (whatever the peril, ever forward), continues to inspire her as well. \u201cNo leader has a smooth path,\u201d she says. \u201cYou have to be willing to make changes and difficult decisions. Having the courage to do that is an important piece of leadership, and that\u2019s something that I got from Seton Hall.\u201d<\/p>\n Though she lists academic excellence as a top priority, Muoio says it\u2019s vital to her that Stuart girls also learn the value of serving others. She drives the school\u2019s Meals on Wheels route once a month, taking students into the community to deliver food. \u201cIt\u2019s really powerful,\u201d she says. \u201cI think one of our greatest priorities is making sure that kids see outside of themselves and into what their impact can be on the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Four years into her role at Stuart, and after more than a decade working in high schools, Muoio says education is truly \u201cthe best career you can have.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou will never have greater joy than you do on a day-to-day basis,\u201d she says. \u201cI love what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n Molly Petrilla is a freelance writer based in New Jersey.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A career in support of a Catholic all-girl educational experience.<\/p>\n