Living Noblesse Oblige - Suzeth Carreon - High School Teacher of the Week

Teacher of the Week: Suzeth Carreon

Living Noblesse Oblige

            Suzeth Carreon, Religion teacher at Maryknoll High School since 2001, is seen in the picture above sharing her thoughts during a faculty discussion about school culture at Maryknoll High School and what can be done to help our students make the most moral and ethical choices in their lives. Others take interest in hearing Mrs. Carreon because she exemplifies what it means to be of service to God, others, and to live as Jesus did.

            Born and raised in the city of Manila, Mrs. Carreon’s mother worked as a librarian and her father as an entrepreneur in the Philippines. She attended Bonifacio Elementary School as a young kid, where she found her passion for dancing and singing. She took her talents with her through to Canossian College, an all-girl Catholic high school where she continued sharing her talents with others. After high school, Mrs. Carreon applied to Manuel Quezon University, where she attained an undergraduate degree in Foreign Service (better known in the U.S. as International Relations).    

            Mrs. Carreon could have become a foreign ambassador like some of her classmates did after graduating from college. Instead, she chose to support her husband who worked as a Civil Engineer and travelled to Samoa to raise her family. Mrs. Carreon’s time in Samoa made a big impact on her. All three of her children were born and raised in American Samoa. During her time there, she found her passion for teaching and taught the subjects of English, Language Arts, American Literature and Writing at Samoana High School and South Pacific Academy. After attaining a scholarship to study at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, Mrs. Carreon made the decision to move to Hawaii with her family to complete her MA Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction in 1995. Soon after, she attained a teaching position at St. John the Baptist School on Oahu and taught Religion, Language Arts and Social Studies from 1999 to 2001. The next year, she was hired at Maryknoll School to teach Religion and she has been here ever since.

            Over the years at Maryknoll, Mrs. Carreon has taught many religion courses including Morality, Catholic Social Justice, and more. She appreciates the smallness of the campus, where students can get to know each other very well. Mrs. Carreon is thankful for the opportunities Maryknoll has given her to grow as teacher and as a person. She is most proud of Maryknoll’s commitment to teaching students about Catholic values. Along with Campus Ministers Leo Delgado and Christopher Casupang, Mrs. Carreon has led eleven Kairos retreats and one Emmaus retreat. In addition to this, she has exposed hundreds of our students to God’s Works of Mercy by asking students to join her in feeding the homeless, visiting the sick and more.

            Mrs. Carreon takes her job very seriously and spends many hours planning and prepping lessons to be used in the classroom with her students. She lives for the glory of God and wants to “teach like Jesus, love like him and live like him.” We thank Mrs. Carreon for being an example of “Noblesse Oblige” for our students by continuing to live a life of service to others. Mahalo Mrs. Carreon for being an important part of our Maryknoll family for so many years and for modeling the Christian values that makes Maryknoll School so special.