The teen moms we serve at Mary’s Path are on the path to a new life. While they’re learning to care for their babies, they’re also learning how to care for themselves. A big part of that is continuing their education. For 27 years, Mary’s Path, in a remarkable partnership with Trinity Church, which has generously donated the space, our teen moms have been able to attend Mary’s Academy, an Orange County Department of Education ACCESS (Alternative, Community, Correctional, Education, Schools, & Services) school that has served as a safe space for our girls to work toward their high school diplomas.

This year we are excited to welcome our new teacher, Lisa Mulkerin-Carey. She takes over for longtime teacher Carrie Davis, who recently retired. Ms. Davis was an outstanding educator and we thank her for her decades of service and dedication to our teen moms.

Ms. Mulkerin-Carey is excited to step into the position. She said a lot of the girls she works with have struggled in traditional educational settings, but are thriving at Mary’s Academy.

“They just know that ultimately what they want is their diploma. They wanna be able to celebrate all that they have felt like they’re working for,” said Ms. Mulkerin-Carey.

Ms. Mulkerin-Carey said she’d like to grow the program so that she can offer more girls a soft place to land while they work toward their goals and get back on the right path.