Last spring Dean Denise Macrina was offered the position of assistant principal by Sister Joan Fitzgerald. Macrina will continue to be Xavier’s dean of students while also fulfilling the new role of assistant principal. She is notable for having a candy bowl filled with chocolates in her office, for her iconic “Luv ya, Mean it” catchphrase and for a warm smile when you pass her in the hallways, but very few know how she got to where she is today.
Macrina grew up “in a small town in upstate New York- Herkimer.” She attended Saint Francis de Sales Catholic School and then went to Herkimer Central High School. She knew from a young age that she wanted to pursue a career in education.
Throughout her years in middle and high school, Macrina played almost every sport there was: volleyball, basketball, softball, field hockey and soccer.
Macrina, like many high school students, was involved with many activities at her school and had a job. “I was on the yearbook staff and won homecoming queen my senior year,” she said. “I worked my very first job near the New York State Throughway, and at the exit there was a building that looked like a beehive. It was an information center where I worked.” She later was promoted to “parks and recreation” where she worked a little during high school and in the summertime when she was on break from college.
After graduating from Herkimer Central, Macrina attended college at Nazareth University in Rochester, New York. She received her master’s in education leadership with a principal’s certificate.
Once she finished her four years at Nazareth University, Macrina landed a job as a senior English teacher at Waterloo High School in New York.
After five years teaching at Waterloo, Macrina moved to Arizona, because she enjoyed visiting her sister in Phoenix every summer and she loved the Arizona heat.
In Arizona she accepted a job at Frank Borman, as a middle school English teacher. She taught there for 27 years and made many lifelong friends, including Wendy Mostoller and Gina Nunez, current teachers at Xavier.
In 2007, Fitzgerald called Macrina to inquire about Mostoller who applied for a math position at Xavier. Near the end of the phone conversation, Fitzgerald proceeded to ask Macrina if she had anyone to “recommend for a position as a freshman English teacher,” and Macrina told her that she put in her notice for retirement with her present school district and that she would like to apply for the Xavier teaching position.
She called Mostoller about her exciting news after receiving the offer from Xavier. “I told Mrs. Mostoller to guess where I will be next year, and she guessed I would be out on the golf course. Instead, I told her I will not be retiring, but hopefully teaching down the hall from her at Xavier College Prep.”
Mostoller was overjoyed for her. “I knew her dynamic teaching style would benefit all her upcoming classes at Xavier,” Mostoller said.
After the interview for the position of the freshman English teacher, Fitzgerald immediately knew Macrina would be a great fit for Xavier. She served as an English teacher at Xavier from 2007 until 2012, when she was promoted to become Xavier’s dean of students.
“I always dreamed of the day I could use my principal’s certificate, which is required for a person who wishes to become a dean, assistant principal or a principal,” said Macrina. “I can’t tell you the joy I felt when Sister Joan came into my office last spring and asked if I wanted to become the assistant principal.”
“I knew she would be a great dean and assistant principal because of her leadership skills, her quality of education and her enthusiasm for Xavier,” Fitzgerald said. “I think she is fair, reliable and very judicious.”
Macrina has dedicated her time to Xavier through teaching, coaching soccer and softball and setting the Xavier standard as dean and assistant principal. This is her 49th year in education including one year of student-teaching.
“I am most proud that I made a difference in lives throughout all my years in the education system,” said Macrina. “I have fulfilled my goals, and I never want to retire.”
