Harry Potter fans everywhere will be delighted to find a teacher who not only shares their passion but also could help them write a great essay on the topic.

Ms. Megan O’Neill ’12 is a new member of the faculty. She teaches Literature and Composition I and American Literature for freshmen and juniors, respectively, and also moderates the new Speech Team. When she is not at Saint Viator, Ms. O’Neill lives with her dog Dobby, fittingly named after the house elf from Harry Potter.

Already, Ms. O’Neill says she was pleasantly surprised by the Saint Viator community.

“I love how welcoming the kids have been,” said Ms. O’Neill. She says she wanted to be a teacher for most of her life.

“For a brief moment in elementary school, I wanted to be a zookeeper,” said Ms. O’Neill. Nevertheless, by college she had fully decided to teach high school english. Ms. O’Neill earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Elmhurst College with a concentration in Secondary English Education.

Ms. O’Neill says she loves teaching English because of the connections that students make between what they read and what is going on today. She says her decision to apply at Saint Viator was deeply influenced by her positive experience as a student.

“I wanted to continue the traditions and community that I experienced here with the next generation of Viator students,” said Ms. O’Neill.

Freshman Cassie Limberakis says she appreciates Ms. O’Neill’s use of fun technology and media in Literature and Composition I class.

“She uses gifs in all of her slides,” said Limberakis.

In addition to teaching her classes, Ms. O’Neill says she is excited to be involved in the Speech Team during its first year. It is an IHSA competition team that focuses on public speaking and acting skills but requires no prior experience.

Although Ms. O’Neill says she loves seeing students succeed in the classroom, one of her goals for the academic year is to come to as many extra-curricular activities as she can.

“Seeing you all play the sports you’re passionate about or perform on stage, seeing your hard work outside of the classroom pay off is indescribable,” said Ms. O’Neill.

Welcome back to Saint Viator, Ms. O’Neill!