LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Deirdre Fennelly was nominated by her colleague, Stefanie Seng. 

Mrs. Fennelly is the school nurse at two schools in the Harwood District. While her skills as a nurse are greatly valued, the extra care she gives students helps them see her as a person they can truly trust. When students have family struggles, she makes sure they have whatever they need. She secures rides to after-school events, facilitates access important community events (like trick-or-treating), and makes sure they have support around hygiene needs (i.e, being able to wash if they can't shower at home). She also ensures they have toiletries, food to take home, gifts for holidays and birthdays, and clean underwear and socks. She finds ways to make sure the kids who need her the most never fall under the radar. All of these efforts help kids feel loved, seen, and cared for, and to view school as home away from home. When she does all of these things, she is quiet about it, allowing students privacy and personal pride.