Mercy computer teacher wants to help students ‘change the world’

An email MaryClare Cernik received several years ago is the inspiration for what she does daily in her classroom. It was from a software engineer who was the adult brother of one of her students.

“He was impressed with his sister’s fascination and eagerness to dive more deeply into computer programming, and he wanted to thank me for that,” Cernik remembered, “I still keep that email, and I pull it up every once in a while, just to remind myself that someone who was working in the field and had to be very knowledgeable, made me feel that I’m doing what I should be doing.”

What she’s doing is teaching computer science to young women at Mercy High School in Baltimore, and she was recently named the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Independent Catholic High School Teacher of the Year.

“It’s been interesting to teach computer science at a girls’ school just because there is a very large gender gap,” she said. “That’s just one of the reasons why I enjoy it. I want to instill confidence in all these girls.”

Cernik is a graduate of Salisbury University with a master’s degree from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, and for the last seven years has primarily taught ninth- and 10th-grade students. She is also the chairwoman of the computer science department at Mercy.

“I love coming into my classroom everyday with enthusiasm,” she said. “I love trying to challenge my students to see the positive and to approach problems in a way that they see they can overcome the challenges. I want my students to see that learning is fun and that the more we make mistakes, the more we actually are walking away understanding the bigger picture.”

One of the fun things they do is use a 3D laser cutter to design and create ornaments.

It was fun for them because they could use the laser cutter to craft items based on what they designed on the computer, Cernik said.

“And it was fun for me – not so much about using these tools,” she said. “It was about questioning, solving problems and figuring out how to troubleshoot both the technology and their own design thinking.”

Cernik’s approach to teaching is just one of the qualities that Mercy principal, Kathryn Adelsberger, admires in Cernik.

“MaryClare clearly has a deep respect for her students and her students have a deep respect for her,” Adelsberger said. “As a teacher, she’s incredibly innovative, and she’s right next to them, as excited as they are about discovering new things.”

The parishioner of the Church of the Nativity in Timonium believes teaching is a vocation. She has never wanted to do anything else. She herself is a product of a Catholic education.

“I just knew I wanted to give back to the community that created me, that strengthened me,” she said. “I wanted to help students to change the world, make it a better, kinder place, and know that they have that power given to them from God, right in their own two hands. I want to be that inspiration and to be in a place where I could inspire students the way my teachers have.”

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