Dr. Veronica McCue Putting Her Talents To Good Use Helping Wellington Seniors

Retired educator Dr. Veronica McCue has been a champion for children and students all of her life. Now, this Wellington hometown hero is putting her talents toward helping her fellow senior citizens in the community as the new chair of Wellington’s Senior Advisory Committee.

McCue, whose doctorate is in educational leadership, found her calling in special education, a profession that she found to be very rewarding.  Looking back on her educational career, McCue has a hard time pinpointing why she chose this route, but recalled that it was important to her as a young person. As a high school student, she worked as a volunteer to assist other students who were having trouble in school.

“I come from a small Irish Catholic family in Queens, so you know, five children. We were raised to look to do good,” she said. “The legacy was, as my father used to say, ‘As you leave this earth, have people remember what things you left behind — not what you take with you.’ Because you can’t take it with you.”

McCue views special education differently than many people.

“All education is good,” she said. “It’s OK to learn differently, and that should be the motto for all education. When I say ‘special education,’ I mean both sides of the coin: students who struggle in school and students who excel in school. There’s nothing wrong with learning differently.”

There have been many changes since McCue first started out as a special education teacher.  The one thing that she believes has primarily stayed the same are the kids, but they are dealing with many added worries due to the alarming information that remains available to them.

“When I was growing up, it was a need-to-know basis and, basically, kids just didn’t need to know. Today, that’s not really an option,” McCue said.

She went on to describe a conversation with her granddaughter, in which the young girl was talking about drills practiced at school, explaining to her grandmother that a “red alert” meant someone was coming to kill the students.

McCue was left with tears in her eyes. “For a kindergarten student to have to say that? I think that kids today have many more worries, and I sympathize with parents, because there’s so much information out there, and they have to do a great balancing act at keeping their children safe, but also keeping their children exposed, learning and engaged,” she said. “It is a wearisome burden for parents to have to take all this negative information and still try and make their children feel safe.”

Today, McCue is as dedicated to her current position as the new chair of Wellington’s Senior Advisory Committee as she was to special education. Her advice to seniors is to do what they can to make their lives meaningful and to, in the words of poet Dylan Thomas, “do not go gentle into that good night.” She lives her life by the same sage advice, refusing to define herself by age.

“We are not a byproduct of how long we’ve lived on this earth,” McCue said. “Everyone should have the opportunity to reach their potential. Today and forever, people sell themselves short. Senior citizens sell themselves short. They allow themselves to become invisible as members of their community.”

Wellington seniors aren’t invisible to the Senior Advisory Committee. It works diligently to ensure that senior issues and concerns are addressed. The board presents those concerns to Wellington officials and works with other organizations that can help.

Under McCue’s leadership, the board is spearheading special opportunities that will benefit seniors.  For instance, in September the board will honor “home grown heroes:” seniors who’ve watched Wellington grow from strawberry fields to what it is today.

McCue is especially proud of the board’s partnership with Wellington’s Education Committee that introduces senior volunteers to students in local schools. “There was a group of seniors interested in doing volunteer work, and the schools were interested in having volunteers,” McCue said. “Wellington Elementary School, for example, took many of our volunteers to work in the library. It keeps the community cohesive. You don’t become invisible if you don’t want to.”

McCue’s love for the Village of Wellington is evident in the way that she speaks of her adopted hometown. “I think that Wellington encapsulates everything that should come to mind when we think of where we live,” she said. “The council actually listens and hears you and is open to suggestions.  They embrace all people, from the youngest to the oldest. They really go the extra mile to see that it’s a town that’s good for everyone.”

McCue landed in Wellington almost by accident, having followed her daughter to the area. She intended to be in South Florida for a short time, only to help out with her new grandchild, but like many residents arriving from New York and points north, the weather was a deciding factor.

Living in Wellington took some getting used to for McCue, who describes her transition from the Big Apple to the Village of Wellington as a speed difference, but not in terms of a fast-paced lifestyle versus one that is slower paced. It was a social difference and a change for the retired school principal.

“If you go into any store, any restaurant or anywhere in Wellington, you have to add 10 minutes to your travel time. Someone is going to engage you in pleasantries. It’s a very nice feeling,” she said. “It sort of creeps into your soul. This is the way that people are supposed to treat one another.”

Retirement looks differently to McCue than it does for many seniors. In fact, someone might argue that she doesn’t quite embrace retirement’s truest, if not its most popular, definition. She still works eight hours a day, teaching online classes to Korean business people who wish to improve their English. She usually teaches dozens of students per day, in individual, 20-minute classes. McCue herself has never been to Korea, but she hopes to visit Seoul next year.

McCue has enjoyed a lifetime of professional accomplishments — but she counts her three children and her grandchildren as her greatest. She is very proud of her grandson, Grant, who is 10 and her granddaughter, Quinn, who is 6.

“Every teacher’s goal is that their students are better than they are, and I am blessed to say that my children are all wonderful adults. My daughter may take exception, but I take credit for my grandchildren, too,” McCue said with a chuckle. “They all would be my greatest accomplishment in my personal life.”