Hi, I’m Sara McCarthy.

And it’s a pleasure to meet you.

Thank you for taking the time to view my digital portfolio. On this site, you will find a little bit about me including my resume, samples of my work including social media posts, marketing materials, and video and photo shoots I directed. Additionally, you can learn more about the work I have done with students.

I hope to have the opportunity to speak with you more to share how my experience aligns with the mission and vision of your organization.

Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I am fervent believer in education, particularly all-girls’ education, and the important impact that we as educators make on our students.

Most recently served as Assistant Head of School at Alverno Heights Academy’s Upper School, which closed in June 2023 after 63 years. In my position, I collaborated with the Head of School on strategic goals and day-to-day operations of the school, oversaw the academic programs and supported faculty, fostered a positive and inclusive school culture for both students and faculty/staff, and created and supervised programs for students including academic and co-curricular opportunities. When Alverno announced our closure last year, I worked diligently to support faculty and staff in securing new positions and successfully placed 97% of our students in local private and independent schools.

Additionally, I have a breadth of experience in admissions and enrollment management, event planning, college counseling, marketing, social media, fundraising, alumnae and donor relations, and crisis communications. I also hold a single subject teaching credential in Social Studies having taught courses at the 9th-12th grade level, as well as some experience teaching English and Theology.

I am a team player, a proactive leader, a strong communicator, a compassionate cheerleader, an empathetic colleague, and a dedicated member of any community of which I am a part. I would love to meet with you

A Snickers Bar & A Round of Jeopardy Changed My Life

A passion for all-girls’ education begins

A Snickers bar and a round of Jeopardy changed my life. Yes, you read that correctly— a Snickers bar and a round of Jeopardy. Well, not just any Jeopardy— Theology Jeopardy! You see I was an eighth grade girl on a Visiting Day at one of the many all-girls’ schools in the San Gabriel Valley, when my host let me know that she had a Jeopardy quiz in her Theology class that afternoon.

When we arrived to the room, the girls were broken up into teams and a whirlwind game began. The prize for the students? A coveted extra five points on the following week’s chapter test! Instead of being the passive bystander I feared I would be, my host and her friends looped me into their group to help in anyway I could. Although I was coming from a Catholic elementary school, the topics were largely unfamiliar to me until just one final question stood between my team and the other for those beautiful five points.

With a perfect Alex Trebek inspired inflection, the teacher posed the prompt… “The only judge of Israel who was a woman.” I realized I knew the answer but watched as the girls scrambled to figure it out…no one knew! Well, except me. I whispered quietly to my host, “It’s Deborah. We had a nun come and speak last week at school who works with inmates and she talked about her.” She said, “Are you sure?” I told her I was and she looked at her friends and the other group who were also stumped she said, “Okay, you answer.” “Me?!?! Okay,” I replied.

I cautiously raised my hand and the teacher looked at me and gave a small smile as she nodded at me to answer. I said, “Who is Deborah?” with all the confidence of a child riding a bike for the first time. The teacher smiled and said, “Correct! Our visitor has the winning answer! You win!” as she tossed me a Snickers bar. My host and her friends smiled and thanked me for their five point bonus and one of them even said, “Sorry you won’t get five points.” Little did she know that what I got that day was so much more— a sense of belonging that I had been looking for. It was the sign I had found the place I could call home for what I thought would be just 4 years although it turned into much, much more.

All these years later, the memory of that day is still seared into my brain and despite all that has come since, I will forever cherish it as the moment I discovered the magic of an all-girls’ school.