The newest Nazareth Theology Teacher and Chair of the Theology Department, Nereida McGrath received her Master’s degree in Theology from Catholic Theological Union, (CTU) where she is proud to share alumni status with Pope Leo XIV. But at that time, she didn’t have a clear path mapped out. She said, “I was studying theology, but I wasn’t thinking about becoming a theology teacher.”
When McGrath came to Nazareth, she was glad to see so many familiar faces among the faculty and staff, some of whom she had previously taught like Director of Development Katherine Banasiak and Math Teacher Anna Slabek, and her former colleagues Spanish Teacher Brianna Cairns, Director of Student Activities Meg Gardner and English Maternity Substitute Diana Burban.
As it turns out, McGrath is really tapping into her theology education this year while teaching World Religions, Peace and Justice and Scripture, but McGrath’s own educational and professional journey was varied and exploratory. She attended many different universities before attending CTU including Southern Illinois University, Columbia College and Dominican University.
When she was 20-years old, McGrath decided to temporarily leave college in order to do missionary work in the border town of Tijuana, Mexico. There, she worked at Casa del Migrante, a house for migrants and refugees who were newly arrived at the border and getting ready to cross into the United States.
Her time and work there impacted her life in a meaningful and lasting way. She said, “It completely changed the direction I was headed in. It is the reason that I studied theology.” It is also the reason she continued to do missionary work and later became a youth minister.
Working with migrants and refugees was personal for McGrath as it made her embrace her own history. She said it helped her to understand what it was like for her parents and grandparents who migrated to America. She said, “If my parents and grandparents didn’t migrate to this country, life would be completely different.”
An interesting fact about McGrath is that her first dream career was to be a Broadway performer. She was in choir in high school, but it wasn’t until college that she developed her love for musicals. The only problem was that she developed a debilitating case of stage fright in the middle of her Theater Studies coursework. Despite being quite comfortable at her job as a teacher standing up in front of classes all day long, she said she still has a fear of performing. So, she is resolved to be in the audience of the musicals she loves – especially Wicked, which she has seen many times and she says is her favorite by far.
