Danielle Verrecchia ’22

Ms. Flaherty is a new Spanish teacher at La Salle Academy.  This is her first time ever working in a high school environment and is thrilled.  She currently teaches freshmen as well as sophomores.

Ms. Flaherty was born in Providence, Rhode Island.  This is where she spent her first few days of her life.  She was then taken home to Warwick, Rhode Island where she grew up.   Seventh grade was her first year of taking Spanish.  Ms. Flaherty started to excel at this particular language throughout middle and high school.  For college, she chose to attend Marquette University.  She was a business major in Spanish.  One reason she chose this college was because it had a lot of study abroad programs, which was one of Ms. Flaherty’s goals.  Her years of hard work paid off, and she became a Spanish teacher.

Prior to landing a teaching spot at La Salle, Ms. Flaherty taught for four years at Monsignor Clarke School in Wakefield, Rhode Island.  This school has children all the way from Pre-k to Eighth Grade.  Last academic school year she taught at the University of Rhode Island and then came to La Salle.  When she was asked about her own initial thoughts or impressions about La Salle, she reverently said, “the building itself was beautiful, all of the students and teachers have been really welcoming.”  She adores how invested in education all the students are, specifying that everyone cares about their grades.  Ms. Flaherty taught children in fifth grade and then transitioned to teaching college students.  It was definitely an adjustment going from teaching ten year-olds to twenty year-olds to fourteen year-olds, but it was nice for her because older students are more independent and can handle more of a workload.  It is sometimes difficult for Ms. Flaherty to let older students be independent.  Through time, she has realized that she does not need to be there every step of the way.  Overall, the thing Ms. Flaherty loves most about teaching is that she is able to help students inside and outside of the classroom.  Every time teaching is mentioned or talked about in Ms. Flaherty’s presence, her eyes light up and you can tell that teaching is something she is extremely passionate about.

Besides teaching, Mrs. Flaherty has many other interests.  When she was asked about them, she excitedly exclaimed, “traveling, learning, art, music, theatre, literature, and cooking!”  These are things she loves to explore in her freetime or for fun.  One fun fact that people might not know about her is that she is a huge college basketball fan.  She has season passes for the Providence College Friars and attends every game.  Aside from teaching Spanish, she also likes to have many Spanish foods to celebrate the culture.  Her absolute favorites are crema and catalana.  She also speaks Italian.  Ms. Flaherty has numerous characteristics about herself that make her the fun and unique person she is today.

Ms. Flaherty is very happy at where she is in her life at this moment and is not sure where the future will take her.  When she was asked about her plans for the future, she paused for a moment and pondered to herself.  She just finished her Masters Degree and may consider further education, but is mainly focused on her current work for now.  As the year goes on, she may develop some goals for the future.  At La Salle, she is very happy with her job and would not change it for anything.