Another wonderful addition to Choate’s English department arrived this year to teach both third and sixth formers. Ms. Ellen Devine, who grew up in North Haven, Connecticut, returned to nearby Wallingford to experience life at Choate Rosemary Hall. She comes with an extensive background of knowledge and interest in English, which makes her a natural choice to teach a two-term elective for seniors, Journeys and Quests, and a spring term elective on Irish literature. When asked what her favorite thing was about Choate, Ms. Devine expressed her enjoyment in the courses she conducts. The classes she teaches here encompass her greatest interests, allowing her to more easily communicate with her students the significant and appealing aspects of the material.

It was through experiences during her childhood that Ms. Devine’s love for books blossomed. Ms. Devine is not afraid to let it be known that she had an immense fear of the dark. After watching the movie “The Gremlins,” Ms. Devine became incredibly terrified of the group of Gremlins she knew lived underneath her bed. Her incredible imagination came to life with the intricate and detailed description she gave me of the community of creatures that haunted her for nearly eight years. The measures Ms. Devine took in order to “save her arms and legs” included keeping the light on at night, because the Gremlins could not come out in the light. Because of these torturous and emotionally straining years, Ms. Devine became an avid reader because books occupied her while she “waited out” the darkness. Clearly, her sense of humor stands out among all of her other unique qualities. While she says she is entertained every day by the excitement Choate students bring to the classroom, her students also enjoy the comical and surprising events that occur each class that she teaches.

Although Ms. Devine enjoyed reading from a young age, she first dreamt about becoming a marine biologist. However, in her senior year of high school, she became very interested in classicism. This abrupt change of mind occurred partly as a result of her realization of what it meant to become a marine biologist. She knew that she would never be able to live a lifestyle so different from the one in which she grew up.

Ms. Devine attended Cornell University, majoring in English with a concentration in Irish studies. At Cornell, Ms. Devine participated in crew and now coaches the Girls Crew team at Choate. After graduating from Cornell, Ms. Devine remained in Ithaca, New York working at KAPLAN as an SAT tutor and a contributor to the curriculum found in the testing center’s SAT practice books. After a year of writing sample essays, she decided to begin her teaching career. Ms. Devine taught English at Andover during the 2004-2005 school year. However, she only had a one-year contract with Phillips Academy. When offered a position at Choate, she accepted.

As a house adviser in Library, Ms. Devine says she truly enjoys working and living at a boarding school. The close connections she is able to make with those she lives with allows for students and teachers to interact in a variety of ways and are not only limited to the classroom. Ms. Devine said that she values these relationships, believing it is an important experience in both the teachers’ and the students’ lives at the school.

Ms. Devine is now working on both a collection of personal essays and a novel, hoping to publish both in the near future. Although she says that she does not know if she will always be an English teacher, she does know that literature will forever remain a large part of her life. According to Ms. Devine, “in an ideal world, I would write, publish, be ridiculously rich and famous while staying well-grounded, and also teach.” Her unique ambition reflects her life philosophy of living life in such a way that she never feels ashamed of what she has done. Ms. Devine is constantly trying to maintain a good perspective and avoid getting caught up in small, unimportant matters. Her sense of humor carries her through every day, not only keeping a smile on her face but also one on every person whom she encounters.