One is a teacher whose math students built a trebuchet in class. Another is an English teacher who makes respect part of the traditional Rs of learning. The last makes sure that students move forward knowing how to apply algebra to real life.

These Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School educators — Tina Fox, Kate McCarthy and Susan LeBlond — were anonymously nominated for National Life Group’s LifeChanger of the Year award.

The annual recognition identifies school teachers and support employees whose commitment to students does not stop at the classroom door or with the last bell of the day.

Fox, LeBlond and McCarthy all share a common thread: they made teaching their career later in life. 

Fox started out in the day care field before stepping back to raise her two daughters. As they grew and athletics became a part of their daily routine, Fox began coaching sports: soccer, field hockey, cross country track and basketball. Becoming a substitute teacher and then an educational technician, she earned her teaching credentials and became a math teacher in 2003. 

Her work spills across all seasons, including education programs during summer break. Her students create scale models of boats and then build them full size as a class project. The trebuchet, a type of catapult, that her students built in her math class became part of Oxford Hills’ field hockey pregame tradition.

“She has led the design and implementation of multiple curriculum programs, including a pioneering interdisciplinary STEM course that integrates physics and math through hands-on projectslike trebuchet construction and environmental field studies … and is deeply involved with community service and educator advocacy,” Fox’s nomination said.

LeBlond managed her family’s transportation business for years. Her entry to teaching began in Lewiston with special education support and then as an educational technician. After graduating from the University of Southern Maine with history and math certifications, she began teaching at Oxford Hills in 2019.

In addition to teaching geometry and algebra, LeBlond is the school’s adviser overseeing senior projects and works with every 12th grader as they choose, plan and carry out their community service graduation requirements.

“She makes an extra effort to support students individually,” her nomination said, such as offering one-to-one testing opportunities when a student needs to complete an assessment verbally. “She regularly dedicates four to six hours per week after school to provide additional math help, helping students to feel seen, capable, and confident in their learning.”

McCarthy came to Maine during the post-Sept. 11, 2001, period, one of many urbanites motivated to pursue a quality-driven life. She left behind a career in consumer marketing. Substitute teaching eventually led her to teaching full time at elementary schools in Regional School Unit 10 and Maine School Administrative District 17. 

More recently, McCarthy began teaching English at Oxford Hills, where she cofounded the school’s literary magazine using a professional development mini-grant. Her students do not just respect her straightforward communication style, they seek her out when they feel they need it, her nomination said.

McCarthy “creates a positive classroom environment every day. When each student enters her room, she greets them with a hello and their name,” the nomination said. “If she notices a student not in the best of moods, she makes a point to check in with them privately. She will do what it takes to help them feel successful.”