Alumni Spotlight: Elizabeth Nevins, ’99, P ’26, ’27
St. Thomas Aquinas High School Class of 1999 alum, Elizabeth Nevins, had the opportunity to sit down with our Director of Advancement, Sarah McCluskey, for a brief interview. Read the interview below to learn more about Elizabeth and her time at STA!
25 years ago, Elizabeth (Park) Nevins walked the halls as a student as STA. Growing up in Hampton, she spent many of her formative years at Sacred Heart School (SHS) before transitioning to the public middle school. She was eager to return to the Catholic School atmosphere, where she felt a sense of community and shared faith. She found that at St. Thomas Aquinas High School.
Elizabeth remembers with fondness the quirky sayings of her favorite Advisor, Doc. McGrew, as well as many of the other faculty members who played a role in her education. “I was known for who I was, the things I was good at and could get better at. I knew I could go to them to get help and support.” As a member of the Drama Club, she was involved with West Side Story. She was also on the cheerleading squad. She developed strong bonds with friends, many of whom lived in Dover and the surrounding towns. In the years before smart phones and social media, Elizabeth recalls racking up her parent’s phone bill with all of her long-distance toll calls!
The community she found at STA was a big driver in her decision to attend a small college. She graduated from Colby Sawyer College with a degree in Child Development. Upon graduation, she began teaching at Sacred Heart School. She also taught in various Catholic schools in Virginia as she was raising her 4 children. She returned to New Hampshire in 2016 and was called back to her roots at SHS, where she has been ever since.
Today, Elizabeth walks the halls of STA in a different stage of her life—as a parent. “It’s like coming home. Even though it looks different, it still has that St. Thomas Aquinas feel. It’s like walking down memory lane,” she says. Her two sons, Harrison ’26 and Ben ’27 are thriving. Her other young children are students at Sacred Heart School and it’s only a matter of time before
they join the ranks of the Saints.