This school year marks Ciara McGrath’s ninth year at UPrep. As a member of the Upper School Spanish Department, she teaches an array of language and culture classes to students. This year, she is also the 12th grade class dean.

Why did you become an educator?

As a child, I loved literature. My family traveled a lot, and I grew up in many different places. I was born in Canada from Irish parents, and we left for Copenhagen when I was six months old. We lived in Spain during elementary school, and I spent 6th and 7th grade in Minnesota, 8th grade in Miami, 9th grade in Spain, and the rest of high school in Munich, Germany.

Still, I believed most authors were European white men. When I went to college in the early 90s, I was lucky to have young professors pushing against the traditional cannon. It was an eye-opening experience to realize that women and people of color were writers. I decided to dedicate my academic career to researching forgotten authors. My first master’s degree is in women’s studies, and I have a master of philosophy from Trinity College Dublin and an MA and PhD in comparative literature from the University of Washington.

I thought I would always teach at the college level, but I had friends who taught at independent schools who recommended this path.

What do you love about teaching Spanish?

I love being part of the journey where students discover art and literature and language and a culture other than their own culture. Besides Spanish language classes, I teach Justicia Social en el Mundo Hispano [Social Justice in the Hispanic World] and Introducción al Análisis de Literatura y Cine del Mundo Hispano [Introduction to Analysis of Literature and Film in the Hispanic World]. I am continuously amazed and inspired by students who are becoming very adept at Spanish without stepping foot in a Spanish-speaking country. By their senior year, they are analyzing stories written in Spanish and speaking Spanish in Socratic seminars and they have built this incredible skill that will serve them in life.

What do you love about working with Upper School students?

During Upper School, students develop their confidence and self-advocacy skills and working here retaught me the importance of this stage of life. I see how teenagers engage in community and how they believe in their impact and how they can change the world. I like seeing them grow and mature and experiencing those moments where you might impact their lives and influence their future identities. It’s amazing to watch UPrep students and see all they do inside and outside of school to affect positive change. People say teenagers don’t care, but that’s not true. They are involved in sports and theatre and activism and volunteering and entrepreneurship. Every year, I am blown away by our students at UPrep.

This year you are the 12th grade dean. Tell me about that role.

It’s wonderful getting to know the students through the four-year high school arc and getting to celebrate their successes. Between 9th and 12th grade, we want students to become competent in creating their own path. This is a community that wants students to speak up for themselves and gain independence and trust in their own abilities.

As the dean, I work with advisories, so I get to know all the students, not just the students I have in Spanish classes. I also play a role in assisting students, socially, emotionally, and academically, helping to ensure that every student who needs support is connected to people who can help them.

What have you learned from your students?

Optimism and hope for the future. While social and political activism has always been important to me, their concerns for the future (be it climate change, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, or gun control), definitely informs how I spend my time volunteering and they challenge me to keep learning about pressing issues that affect them as young adults. My students make me want to make the world a better place for them.

What do you love about the UPrep community?

I feel there is a genuine caring and kindness in the UPrep community from the students and adults. I love that UPrep fosters growth on an individual and professional level. I have traveled around the country, both learning and promoting what I do in my classroom. UPrep-sponsored professional development has made me a more well-rounded individual and I can apply new skills as a dean and a teacher. For example. I’ve learned how to practice deep listening, how to engage in difficult conversations, and mindfulness techniques, and I’ve worked and reflected on unconscious biases.

What do you do to unwind?

All of my family lives outside of the states. Before the pandemic, I loved traveling and reconnecting to my family. The last few years have been hard, and I’ve been relying on my chosen family. I love hockey—and was a fan before hockey ever came to Seattle. I love watching The Great British Bake Off and The Amazing Race, cooking, reading, and walking while listening to podcasts.

What might people be surprised to learn about you?

I am a true introvert. I function well in an extroverted world, but my most comfortable places are at home with my cat or walking with one friend.

READ MORE LEADERS TO LEARN FROM ARTICLES