Woman to watch for March 31: Mary DeWinkeleer

The Lancer Spirit is celebrating the women of Londonderry during the month of March in honor of Women’s History Month. For each day of the month, LSO will be highlighting an inspiring woman within the Londonderry community who has demonstrated strong leadership and influential behavior.

Today’s “Woman to Watch” is English Teacher and Journalism Advisor Mary DeWinkeleer who has exhibited influential behavior by giving her students a voice and encouraging them to be the person they want to be.

Lukas, Dewinks, Dewinkle, Mom, no matter what name her students call her, Journalism Advisor and English teacher Mary DeWinkeleer is known by her past and present students as a compassionate and caring individual. 

“Dewinks is the most down to earth and kind teacher you will ever meet,” LHS Alumni Ellie Goodspeed said. “She really cares individually about each of her students and takes the time to check in with them. You can tell that she is passionate about producing high quality content and giving students a voice/platform to talk about what matters to them.”

Goodspeed was the Magazine Chief for The Lancer Spirit for the 2016-2017 school year and has come to know DeWinkeleer as a “hard working, caring, funny, kind” person. 

Following the line of students on whom DeWinkeleer has had an impact, former Assistant Editor-in-Chief Allie Bedell from the class of 2010 appreciated her unique way of teaching. 

“There are plenty of cool teachers that are fun, but at the end of the day they may not always help you out in the long run,” Bedell said, “but she hits that good happy medium where she gives you the perspective you need without being an overbearing grownup.”

DeWinkeleer has fun with her students while also pushing them to strive for excellence in their academics, writing, and life. 

“She doesn’t talk down to you and she has high expectations for her students and herself, and she holds you to them, but she also helps you meet these expectations,” Goodspeed said. 

DeWinkeleer especially encourages her students to meet these expectations when she works alongside them at a journalism “late night”; this occurs just prior to a magazine’s publishing deadline and is generally one of the more stressful parts of the publication process. At late night DeWinkeleer and the editors of The Lancer Spirit stay at the school late at night working hard to finish up stories and design magazine pages. 

“She works harder than almost everyone I have ever met,” Goodspeed said. “There were a lot of late nights where it was just her and I in [classroom] 411. How many teachers do you know that stay at school until 1:00-2:00 am working?!”

According to former Editor-in-Chief Liz Iaconis, DeWinkeleer wants her students to succeed and devotes a lot of time to the school newspaper in order for this to happen. 

“Dewinks is one of the most driven people I have ever met,” Iaconis said. “She cares endlessly about the Lancer Spirit and every single one of her students.”

Throughout class, she encourages her students to use their writing to bring a voice to the school. 

“No matter what your opinion may be, Dewinks will encourage you to share your stories and contribute to creating a more inclusive and informative environment at LHS,” Iaconis said. 

Even if the opinions of the staff are controversial, DeWinkeleer will have their back and support them if she thinks the students had put in the necessary effort to make the article credible. 

“I know that we, the editorial board when I was on staff, sometimes put her in tricky spots with the administration, but she always had our backs as long as we had done our research and had produced well-written articles,” Goodspeed said. 

Not only does DeWinkeleer have her students’ backs inside of the classroom, but she also supports them with any problems they may be facing in their personal lives. 

When applying to college and figuring out a career path, former Editor-in-Chief Katie Lannan from the class of 2008 knew she could depend on DeWinkeleer and have her in her corner when it seemed like no one else was.

“Ms. Lukas was the first person outside of my family to believe in me, to encourage me to do what I wanted, and to tell me that I could be successful at it,” Lannan said. “That still means a lot to me today.”

DeWinkeleer helps students gain confidence and nurture relationships inside of the classroom by creating a community where people can depend on one another.

“She builds this little family where there are a lot of very different people that wouldn’t normally hang out with each other and creates a support system where you’re really immersed and get to know other people,” Bedell said. 

Since DeWinkeleer and her students share such a strong bond through the community she built, she continues to stay in touch with most of them long after they graduate. 

“I think the fact she stays in touch with so many students and the fact so many students want to stay in touch with her for so long says a lot about the type of person she is,” Bedell said. 

From both current and past staffs, DeWinkeleer continues to make a lasting impact on her students by giving them a voice and inspiring them to achieve their goals. 

“The Lancer Spirit could not ask for a more dedicated advisor; we are so lucky to have her,” Iaconis said.