Mary Mason has been a computer teacher at Trinity High School for 42 years and is now the longest-serving teacher for the 2023-2024 school year. Mason has been an algebra, geometry, and technology-based class teacher and involved in many clubs and roles here throughout the years. Seeing the school grow and prosper, Mason has played a significant role in inspiring students and helping them start their major careers.
Mason, in her early childhood, frequently jumped around because of her father’s job, but starting in the second grade, she stayed and grew up in Brighton Garden Drive near the Garden Lane shopping center. Later, she attended Assumption High School where she first got her feel for math and technology-based interest through programming classes and the Assumption Math Lab. She loved computer science, especially the programming areas such as robotics for the problem-solving parts it entails. “I love coding and programming like robotics, it’s like solving many puzzles, and it’s satisfying to finally complete it.”
Mason later went to the University of Louisville and got a Bachelor of Science and Master of Teaching with a concentration in mathematics. While getting her degree, she was student teaching at Manuel High School until November of 1981, when Louisville helped her procure her teaching role here at Trinity High School.
Trinity was looking for a math teacher with a background in computers, and Mason was perfect for the role. Being the only computer or I.T. worker, she taught four classes originally with a non-block schedule including algebra, geometry, and two programming courses that were originally only offered to seniors. “There was only one computer and only one user, but we made do.” Over the years, Trinity grew both in size and advancements, having three hundred people on average per graduating class and having a full computer and technology center with every student having their computer.
Now Mason is more involved in Trinity than ever being a full-time teacher, IT Director, and proctor and mentor of many clubs and activities. Mason took 16 hours of Computer Information System Company (CISCO) courses and went from four 40-minute classes to six different one-hour and 20-minute classes: Advanced Computers and Technology, Advanced and Academic BASIC Programming, Advanced Mobile Robotics, Advanced Web Design 1, AP Computer Science Principles, and AP Computer Science A. Clubs and activities she is a part of are intermediate volleyball, senior flag core, the blood drive, computer programming and science club, a Dante mentor, and in the past, a robotics club.
Mason has appreciated this school for years, meaning how much she loves the “colleagues and working with students and the Christian community that bands together helping me during times of need.” Mason is inspired by God and Jesus, and has strived through the years to teach young minds to become great figures. Mason has inspired a variety of successful individuals, including Jason McCreary, the owner of Pure Concepts which is one of the first apps for creating March Madness brackets. McCreary is also the author of the published book “BASECODE,” a field guide containing real-world practices to help one write code that is less complex and more readable. Brad Hoffman is another student who went on to success: He is the senior software engineer at Openly and wrote apps in high school. Brian Archer is a senior software engineer at SAIC, and James Moak is currently a software engineer at Google and has also worked for Amazon and Fitbit.
In the meantime, you can find Mason spending time with her friends in the tech center, the regulars at 7:20 A.M. mass, or giving “a shoutout to my lunch tables”. Mason has made her mark on the Trinity community. This is hopefully another wonderful year that she will be proud to add to her legacy.
