Alumna Reflects on Importance of WCSU Education in Her Life

DANBURY, Connecticut — As she approaches the age of 100, Brewster, New York, resident Dorothy Killackey has a lot of history to look back upon. So, when she heard Western Connecticut State University was celebrating its 120th birthday and was soliciting alumni stories, she felt compelled to reach out and share hers.

“I am now 96 years old, and have been actively involved in several careers and several community activities since receiving my M.S. in Science in 1971, as well as my Sixth Year Professional Degree in Counseling in 1980, both Cum Laude from WCSU,” Killackey wrote. “Since receiving my Sixth Year Professional Degree, I have used my education, my intellect, my self-directed ambition toward important endeavors, not only to support my four children, but to improve my schools’ as well as my community’s knowledge with a better reading curriculum.”

Killackey’s WCSU master’s degree came 23 years after receiving her B.A. in Psychology from Barnard College at Columbia University in 1948. She earned her Sixth Year degree from WCSU at the age of 53.

She was a teacher in New Hampshire Public Schools in the early 1950s, taught in the Brewster Public Schools from 1966 through 1989, and began to share her knowledge in teachers’ workshops in the mid-1970s.

Killackey’s efforts to expand literacy and appreciation of local history have resulted in numerous accolades and awards through the years. Among them, Pi State of Alpha Omicron Sorority awarded her the Jeannette Johnson Teaching Award (1972), and the Brewster School District named her the Outstanding Elementary Teacher of the Year in 1974 and 1989.

Her relationship with WCSU remained central to her career, and in 1975-76, Killackey was asked by then-WCSU Professor Dr. Ruth Allen to present “An Independent Study on Dyslexia” to WCSU Education students. In 1979, she received a Recognition Award from Allen at the WCSU Honors Convocation, and in the same year received the Nancy Barrelle Memorial Scholarship to continue her university studies.

Killackey was initiated into the Phi Delta Kappa National Educators Fraternity at WCSU for research, service and leadership in 1980. In 1982, she received the Jeannette Johnson Pi State Scholarship Award in New York State.

In 1991, Killackey was included in “Who’s Who of American Women,” and in 1992 she was included in “Who’s Who in American Education.” She also received the Delta Kappa Gamma Women’s Sorority Alpha Omicron Chapter Lolobel Hall Scholarship.

Killackey taught in the elementary grades at the John F. Kennedy School in Brewster while she pursued her graduate degrees at WCSU. As a result of her graduate work, she was invited by the New York State Teachers’ Association to conduct teachers’ workshops, and was also invited to local school districts to share her knowledge about “Learning Disabilities, Their Diagnoses and Remediations.”

As the school’s English Liaison, Killackey edited and compiled yearly editions of a writing anthology, showcasing the best examples of poetry and prose of the school’s students. She also served as the Teacher’s Union President of her school, and was a member of the St. Lawrence O’Toole School board for two years. For a decade, she taught in the Title I Summer School Program at the John F. Kennedy School.

Her emphasis on education never wavered, and she established the Killackey Scholarship for Graduating Brewster Seniors before her retirement. She also funded a writing contest for St. Lawrence O’Toole seventh and eighth graders before leaving teaching for a 12-year real estate career that earned her the title of Million Dollar Sales Agent several times.

In her community, Killackey was named Senior Citizen of the Year in 1999 by the Putnam County Office for the Aging, in recognition of the 40+ citizens’ biographies she penned. The wide variety of community organizations that have benefitted from her time and talents and have acknowledged the same with awards are too numerous to mention.

Since 2010, Killackey has written bi-weekly columns in The Putnam Times/Press called “Musings” and “Afterthoughts.” They are now published and available on Amazon, along with her book, “Follow the ‘Dot’ (Life’s Path With a 94-year-old).”

Killackey said, “I believe my story is proof that WCSU was an important link in my life, and my education there has benefited numerous groups of people, as well as enriched and encouraged my life’s path.”