Cara Malone

Having lived in Maine for the past six years, I have realized how fortunate I am to be living among the beautiful landscapes that Sagadahoc County has to offer. Every day feels and looks like vacation. I very much appreciate nature and history and only recently discovered the stunning campus of Chewonki.

I was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was immediately introduced to the fast-paced hustle of this special butterfly-shaped city just south of Boston. My first language was Spanish, as I was born from Dominican/European parents who migrated to the US in the 1960s. It was through television
shows, music and reading dictionaries, that I came to learn to speak the English language fluently. Singing along to music by John Denver, Chicago and the Jackson Five, gave me well-rounded lessons in American culture and language. By age 8, I was in charge of translating all the mail that came in for my father, completed all types of complicated applications, wrote out the checks for bills and acquired an awesome collection of dictionaries. I developed quite a knack for business.

Thirteen fast years flew by and I started a little family of my own: two sons and a daughter. English was our primary language, although I would maintain any aspects of our culture to keep them exposed to the beautiful language, cuisine and music Spanish culture has to offer. As they grew a bit older, I pursued full-time work in Boston in the fields of insurance, finance, accounting and management. I eventually pursued a Bachelors and then a Masters degree in Business Administration. Alongside family life and full-time work, I took on opportunities to teach, whenever possible, in both private and public school settings as a substitute teacher and then later as the Spanish teacher for a private school in Malden, MA. It was a rewarding experience to say the least and I very much enjoyed it! It was fulfilling and felt like my calling.

As my children pursued college, I downsized our home and pursued a new life with my current
husband who was born and raised in Pownal, Maine. As a long-time member of the fire service, he has introduced me to the fire service community and we work together on a non-profit we founded to help support local fire service organizations, many of which are volunteer. We host adventurous motorcycle rides to beautiful parts of Maine, fundraisers, and give presentations to educate the youth in our community about the fire service. As an educator, I enjoy serving my community and providing enlightenment on inspiring topics.

Having been hired to teach Spanish at Chewonki, I thought to myself, how perfect an opportunity to combine my love of teaching, my love nature, serving my community and preserving the beautiful aspects of Spanish culture and all right here in my beautiful back yard! I am excited to be a part of this wonderful organization!