Kathleen O'Gara, M.A.

Education

M.A. American Studies, Fairfield University, 2001

B.A. Government and International Studies, University of Notre Dame, 1991
Minor: Spanish

About Kathleen

As a small town midwestern girl from a large family, Kate found her time in Northern Ireland as a junior at the University of Notre Dame transformative. The experience introduced her to the intricacies of conflict and the complexities of reconciliation. After earning her bachelor's degree in Government and International Studies with a minor in Spanish, Kate started teaching at a small all-girls catholic high school in Hoboken, New Jersey. She and her husband eventually moved to Connecticut where she spent several years teaching social studies at Greenwich High School before she earned her Master’s in American Studies at Fairfield University. She began teaching American Government at Sacred Heart University and eventually also began teaching a course in the politics of Northern Ireland as well as a course on terrorism. She also teaches an International Relations course at Norwalk Community College. She teaches American Government and Politics here at the University of New Haven and finds it a true calling to help students learn how our system works and how they have both the privilege and the responsibility to be a part of it. She occasionally offers courses at the Fairfield Senior Center and in the Norwalk Lifetime Learner's program, as she believes in the importance of connecting with the community. She is an avid Cubs fan, loves to visit family back in the midwest and enjoys time with her three children.