Our guest for Episode 113 of the podcast is Virginia Monaghan. Virginia is a Mon Valley kid, born to a loving Italian-American family in Donora, Pennsylvania.
She graduated for Donora High School in 1964 and went on to California State Teachers College with a Bachelors Degree in secondary education in 1968. Then this Mon Valley kid set off on a more than 30 year career teaching a couple generations of Mon Valley kids at Monessen (PA) High School.
It was at California State Teachers College, where she was the Sigma Tau Gamma White Rose Queen and Miss Torch for the Mon Valley United Way, that she caught the eye of her husband. They were married in 1968 and remained so for 46 years until his unexpected passing in 2014.
Virginia loved teaching English and Public Speaking at Monessen High School. During her career, she sponsored the newspaper, performing arts group and the broadcasting club. She received three "Great Ideas" grants and was listed in "Who's Who in America's Teachers."
Virginia has one daughter, Melanie, a cohost for a Pittsburgh radio morning show and two granddaughters; Quinn, a freshman at Penn State (main) and Brecklynn an eighth-grader in the Belle Vernon Area School District.
She didn’t rest on the laurels of her distinguished career. After her husband's untimely death, I started a Foundation, a (501(c)3) nonprofit to keep his legacy alive. The foundation helps underprivileged children and has been extremely successful.
Virginia has written one children's book and is working on two more. She lives the mantra…you’re never too old and it’s never too late. In her spare time, this amazing woman enjoy ls walking, reading poetry, gardening and movies.
This was a delightful conversation with a dedicated educator, wife, mother, and grandmother who has walks in faith and and continues to give back to her beloved Mon Valley community.
As always, the visually inclined can catch it on YouTube, or listen in on Spotify or your favorite podcast platform.
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