Erin Sweeney may not be the Headmaster’s assistant  full time, but she  still has plenty of work to do as Director of Strategic Initiatives. Ms. Sweeney was hired in January of last year to be Fr. Edwin’s  assistant.  After six weeks of working  as Fr. Edwin’s assistant,  he  decided in March  that  Ms. Sweeney should  work with the Board of Trustees to come up with projects like how to strengthen the academic system and find new ways to raise money for the school.

Ms. Sweeney would like to see some academic changes implemented soon. “I would love to see students go to Rutgers and NJIT to take college courses for college credits,” she said.  She would also like to see more international students move into the Leahy House. “It’s time for us to be a home to more international students. They can learn much  from us and we can learn more from them.”

Ms. Sweeney said  that international students who come to the hive might pay full tuition which would help the school finances. Ms. Sweeney also said the Advancement Office is working on getting a grant to help restart the Velvet Rope program for students.

Even though Ms. Sweeney spends most of her time working with the Board of Trustees on a number of initiatives,  she still finds time to be one of  the Model UN advisers and  help students who have immigration problems. She also assists  parent liaison and event coordinator Mary Hauck with the parent organization.

When Ms. Sweeney is not doing work for the school she enjoys taking  classes like Intro to american studies and immigration in the United States at Rutgers for a masters degree in American Studies . “I already have a masters degree in Public Policy and Urban Planning, but I wanted to go back to school to think  critically again, ” she said.  She also  manages the  Girl Scouts  for the city of  Newark. In her spare time Ms. Sweeney enjoys watching reality shows like “Say Yes to the Dress.” She recently participated in the Great Urban Race in Puerto Rico.