While working as an eighth grade teacher at St. Katharine Drexel Preparatory High School in New Orleans, Rory Jasper ‘24 discovered a personal mission that he carried with him all the way to Boston College.
When Jasper began his search for the next step in his education, he was drawn to the Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development for its reputation, prime location in a U.S. educational hub, and curriculum tailored to develop empathetic leaders equipped with the knowledge and confidence to enhance his experience beyond the classroom.
His transition to life as a graduate student was made easier by a group of mentors that every incoming student receives: faculty members, an academic advisor, and the principal at Cathedral High School, where Jasper worked as an academic success advisor part-time while he completed his master’s degree. Learn more about Rory’s story in this Q&A.
Q: What brought you to Boston College?
I wanted to really find a program that valued what I believe in and wanted to be a true educator. I don't think you can go into a school for two years, be in those kids' lives, and then just say, "Well, I'm only here to get a degree. See you later." To me, it's just a little disingenuous. A master's degree comes with a lot of responsibility and exposes children to the greater things in life, and I wanted to be in a program where my students can also reap the benefits of my master's degree. At BC, you're surrounded by really elevated and educated people.
“I knew immersing myself in this type of community would not only benefit me, but also for the students and families I serve, and make me a better Mr. Jasper when I eventually go back home to New Orleans.”
Q: Tell me about your practicum experience.
I picked up an academic success position at Cathedral High School for the spring semester. I go there three days a week. Cathedral is a seventh to twelfth-grade, boys, and girls Catholic school in the South End neighborhood of Boston. I work with seventh-, eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-graders who are falling behind academically in their classes. I'm there to support them to get them where they need to be, and to teach them self-advocacy.
Technically, this isn't a practicum experience, because you only need to do a practicum if you're going for principal licensure, which I am not doing. This experience allowed me to get a practical experience of working with students.
Q: Were there any faculty members or classes that stood out?
I want to highlight Martin Scanlan. I took his class, which is the family and community engagement class, and I found it relatable to my time at Prep. When I was working at St. Katherine Drexel Preparatory High School, an all-girls high school in New Orleans, I knew our families, but I didn't know how to better serve our families. For example, one of my students was coming late to school every day, not because she wanted to, but because her parents were dropping one kid off on another side of the city. Before taking his class, I didn't have the knowledge or even the capability to meet our students and our parents where they were. Being in that classroom gave me the knowledge and the comfort to be able to work alongside outside partners.
Q: How did the Lynch School prepare you for your next steps?
The program has taught me how to be an empathetic leader. Sometimes, you have to speak less and hear more. That's something that my classes have taught us. It's not teaching us to put on our Superman capes and try to go into a school and automatically change it. We know it takes years and it takes patience with all of the stakeholders. And a lot of time, people think the stakeholders are the board of trustees, but I think that is just a fabricated answer. The true stakeholders are the students that we're serving. That's the biggest piece. Even on the policy side, I do want to go into politics later on in my career, and this program is making me think: how do we create a route for great education everywhere?
Q: When you think about your next steps, where do you see your path?
Right now, I have two paths that I can take. I was admitted into the Donovan Urban Scholars program, which will give me an opportunity to obtain another degree, to prepare me to be in the classroom for a little longer before making that jump to assistant principal or head of school. Also, I am entering into the BPS assistant principal pool. Assistant principals can look at my application to see if they want to offer me an assistant principal role within their school.
“Whichever route I take next, this program has really crystallized to me become a fearless leader inside and outside of the classroom.”