Maureen Fielder ’00 Legacy Scholarship For High School Seniors and College Students Helps Promote Values of a True Woman of Carroll

4/5/2023 2:38:00 PM | By: Noah Tylutki, Graduate Assistant

"When you give it away, it all comes back tenfold they say."

That line from the 1986 Oak Ridge Boys song "When You Give It Away" was the favorite song quote of former John Carroll cross country and track runner Maureen Fielder '00, who passed away unexpectedly at the age of 43 in January 2022.

And it is a fitting line to how she lived her life.

Fielder gave her life to being a high school math teacher in southeast Michigan, most recently at Gabriel Richard High School, mentoring hundreds of students and working to instill confidence in their understanding of what is often times a challenging school subject.

"Ms. Fielder was truly one of kind," one of Fielder's former students at Gabriel Richard, Anna Montgomery, said. "Ms. Fielder understood that not everyone learned at the same pace and that not everyone was a math wizard. She would not stop teaching until I understood and could confidently complete an assignment. I'm forever grateful for her way of teaching because I would have not gotten through any of my college math classes without her tips and tricks."

She lived the Jesuit mission of John Carroll as a Woman For Others, as her life was full of passion, dedication, and generosity to looking out for her students and sharing her passion of math with them.

"Outside of the classroom, she always motivated me to be the best that I could be," Montgomery said. "She would notice when I was not feeling my best mentally or if something was going on. I could always count on her to give me the best pep talk and remind me of who I was and what I could do."

To help continue her legacy, Fielder's family established the Maureen Fielder Legacy Scholarship, which gives $2,500 to a high school senior or college student who demonstrates the same passion for life, determination, work ethic, and community spirit as she did.

"She knew how to help those students who didn't understand math well conceptualize the subject better," Fielder's brother, J.P., also a JCU graduate, said. "We thought the best way to channel Maureen's memory was to help out those types of students she looked out for."

Fielder was born to her parents Keith and Ann in 1978, and grew up on Grosse Ile, Michigan, an island about 30 minutes south of downtown Detroit.

She graduated from Grosse Ile High School in 1996 with a 3.99 GPA and excelled in cross country, basketball, and track. From there, Fielder ran at Aquinas College in Michigan during her freshman and sophomore seasons before deciding to transfer to JCU and run for Kathy Lanese before her junior year in 1998.

"Maureen knew that she wanted to be a math teacher," J.P. said. "She loved the challenge that John Carroll brought to her in both math and teaching, and to have the chance to continue her passion of running."

After an injury-riddled start to her Blue Streak career in cross country, Fielder started to find her groove when it mattered most.

At the 1998 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, she ended in 11th with a time of 19:52 and helped JCU to a third-place finish which was their highest as a team since 1993.

Then, at the Great Lakes Regional the following week at Whiffletree Golf Course in her home state of Michigan, Fielder surprised her teammates and the competition by pacing the Blue Streaks with a 24th place finish in a personal-best time of 19:25. She also helped JCU achieve their first top 10 finish as a team at regionals since 1990, as they placed eighth.

"She was really in a funk and was not herself at the beginning of that season," J.P. said. "However, she finally got that competitive spark back and became a leader on the team. It really started in her head and moved to her feet."

Fielder's momentum carried into the 1998-99 indoor track season, as she broke the school record in the 3000m and 5000m in back-to-back weeks at Oberlin and Baldwin Wallace, respectfully. She bested the 5000m record by a whopping 31 seconds as well, and qualified for the OAC Championships in four different events.

Realizing her passion for teaching, Fielder did her student teaching as a senior and did not run cross country and track.

After graduating from John Carroll in 2000, she taught math in the Detroit area at O.W. Best Middle School, Southgate Anderson High School, and Grosse Ile Middle School before earning her Master's in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College.

She continued her teaching at Marian High School and then at Gabriel Richard, both in the Detroit area as well, before her passing last year. She still would run in her free time, competing in numerous marathons which included the Boston Marathon.

"Ms. Fielder was so funny, so kind, and always went the extra mile to help others," Montgomery said. "She loved people so very deeply, and was a genuine human being. I seriously was so blessed to know her and to learn from her."

To learn more about the scholarship and to apply, please visit http://www.maureenfielderscholarship.com/. The deadline to apply for this year's scholarship is April 10.

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Maureen Fielder ’00 Legacy Scholarship For High School Seniors and College Students Helps Promote Values of a True Woman of Carroll

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