In the News: Alum’s Journey from School Custodian to Teacher Featured in Oak Park News

Dominican University alum Keith Reardon ’23 is highlighted in an article published by the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park.

“From Janitor to Middle-School Classroom” tells the story of Reardon’s return to higher education to obtain a teaching degree after working for several years as a custodian for Oak Park Elementary School District 97. Reardon’s story was first shared in the Spring 2023 edition of Dominican Magazine.

Following a semester of student-teaching and receiving his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Dominican in May 2023, Reardon is now an eighth-grade social studies teacher at Percy Julian Middle School.

“Everyone thinks you graduate high school and then you go through all four years of college and then you start a job—and that is not the case for most people,” Reardon told the Wednesday Journal. “Most people have a non-straight path … and that is important to tell kids.”

Read the full story at oakpark.com.