Maria M. Ogren
Maria Milano Ogren is the daughter of the late Nicholas Milano, of Amalfi, Italy, and Florence Fraulo Milano. Born in New Haven along with her sister, Roberta Milano Ottenbreit, Maria was enrolled in Harbor Street School when the family moved to Branford in 1953. She recalls a large, green kindergarten classroom lined with tall windows, easels at which children could paint and the excitement of seeing an injured seagull “up close” on the playground.
From first through sixth grades she attended Branford Hills School. She distinctly recalls learning, in second grade, how to determine the age she would be in the year 2000. Most vivid of all were her experiences with her beloved fifth and sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Helen T. Rice, the teaching principal of Branford Hills School. Mrs. Rice encouraged her to write and direct plays based on history lessons and stories Maria adapted for performance in the lower grades. Maria was also given the task of supervising the first-grade class before school each day; she helped them hang up their coats, ushered them into their seats, chatted with them and handed out drawing paper until their teacher arrived – an early internship for the future teacher Mrs. Rice believed Maria should be.
The following years saw Maria enter Branford Junior High School where she fell in love with science, tried to perform gymnastic mounts on the “horse” set up in a basement room, and sang in a trio at graduation. She graduated from Branford High School in 1967, from Western Connecticut State University, cum laude, in 1971, and was hired as a sub by Mary Petela, of Branford’s own Petela family. She started full-time teaching at BHS in 1972 in the all-elective “mod” schedule under which she taught nearly every English elective from Shakespeare and Science Fiction to Women in Literature and Last Chance Grammar. She received her Masters of Arts in Literary Science from Wesleyan University in 1977 with a concentration in theater arts and went on to attend workshops and seminars at the MacMillan Center at Yale, the University of Indiana, St. Joseph’s College in Maine, the O’Neill Center in New London, Long Wharf Theater, the Yale Museum of British Art, Hartford Stage and the Yale Repertory Theater.
In 1977, she married fellow English teacher Roy Ogren, leaving the classroom in 1980 when their daughter Cassandra was born. Their son, Reid, followed in 1984. She has since acquired a granddaughter, Catalina Marie Alvarez and a son-in-law, Rodrigo.
During this hiatus, she not only taught adult education classes, provided homebound instruction, and maintained the fall drama program at BHS, but also recorded books for the blind and physically handicapped. Returning to the classroom in 1990 in Horizons, an alternative program to graduation, Maria moved back to teaching in the standard classroom after three years.
Since 1972, she has directed dozens of plays at BHS, including ten Shakespearean productions, one world premiere, a modern Italian drama, Dea by Dea, plays by major American and World dramatists such as Wilder, Brecht, O’Neill, Rice and Williams, six musicals, many revivals of forgotten works, one-act plays, and children’s theater.
Maria loves the quintessential line from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, “I am a teacher first, last, and always.”
From first through sixth grades she attended Branford Hills School. She distinctly recalls learning, in second grade, how to determine the age she would be in the year 2000. Most vivid of all were her experiences with her beloved fifth and sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Helen T. Rice, the teaching principal of Branford Hills School. Mrs. Rice encouraged her to write and direct plays based on history lessons and stories Maria adapted for performance in the lower grades. Maria was also given the task of supervising the first-grade class before school each day; she helped them hang up their coats, ushered them into their seats, chatted with them and handed out drawing paper until their teacher arrived – an early internship for the future teacher Mrs. Rice believed Maria should be.
The following years saw Maria enter Branford Junior High School where she fell in love with science, tried to perform gymnastic mounts on the “horse” set up in a basement room, and sang in a trio at graduation. She graduated from Branford High School in 1967, from Western Connecticut State University, cum laude, in 1971, and was hired as a sub by Mary Petela, of Branford’s own Petela family. She started full-time teaching at BHS in 1972 in the all-elective “mod” schedule under which she taught nearly every English elective from Shakespeare and Science Fiction to Women in Literature and Last Chance Grammar. She received her Masters of Arts in Literary Science from Wesleyan University in 1977 with a concentration in theater arts and went on to attend workshops and seminars at the MacMillan Center at Yale, the University of Indiana, St. Joseph’s College in Maine, the O’Neill Center in New London, Long Wharf Theater, the Yale Museum of British Art, Hartford Stage and the Yale Repertory Theater.
In 1977, she married fellow English teacher Roy Ogren, leaving the classroom in 1980 when their daughter Cassandra was born. Their son, Reid, followed in 1984. She has since acquired a granddaughter, Catalina Marie Alvarez and a son-in-law, Rodrigo.
During this hiatus, she not only taught adult education classes, provided homebound instruction, and maintained the fall drama program at BHS, but also recorded books for the blind and physically handicapped. Returning to the classroom in 1990 in Horizons, an alternative program to graduation, Maria moved back to teaching in the standard classroom after three years.
Since 1972, she has directed dozens of plays at BHS, including ten Shakespearean productions, one world premiere, a modern Italian drama, Dea by Dea, plays by major American and World dramatists such as Wilder, Brecht, O’Neill, Rice and Williams, six musicals, many revivals of forgotten works, one-act plays, and children’s theater.
Maria loves the quintessential line from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, “I am a teacher first, last, and always.”
Letters of Nomination
I was in bewildered awe that Maria Ogren had not yet been inducted into the Branford Education Hall of Fame. When I think of "educator" I think of Mrs. O. While I was in high school, she was the Director for fall plays (she taught English in another district back then). Mrs. Ogren taught by example. She challenged us to look at our characters from different perspectives, would say a line in our character's voice that was so good you wanted to emulate it and would guide us to do our best work. She was extremely even-tempered, and in a world of dramatic teenagers, she had a calming effect on all of us. We had fun while taking our work seriously. We always were trying to do better, not because Mrs. O demanded it, she just knew you had the talent and asked you to tap into it. Looking back more than 25 (!) years later, I see how much she taught not only me but my cast and crew mates. I now understand that she was one of the most creative people I encountered and influenced my ability to think outside the box. She helped me look at the world from perspectives I never thought existed. Those are lessons that stay with you well beyond a performance and I am forever grateful that she let me be a part of her world.
Maria Ogren has been a positive force for learning at Branford High School for four decades. If it were only for her classroom teaching of English, she would easily qualify to be considered for induction into the Branford Education Hall of Fame, but she has contributed much more to Branford High students, faculty and the Branford community. Maria is a graduated of Branford High School, where she developed a reputation of being a serious scholar. When she returned to BHS as a teacher, she brought her scholarly demeanor and a humanistic persona that engaged her students and expanded their horizons. Maria’s teaching manner causes her students to rivet on her words. She is always interesting and speaks her students’ language without abandoning proper grammar. Maria uses her knowledge, wisdom and sharp sense of humor to facilitate learning. She is a master of teaching literature, staying true to an author’s work, while regularly relating it to the realities of student life. She relates to students in a manner which is engaging them, earning their respect and, often, setting them in awe of her vast knowledge. Her students respect her and enjoy her classes. She is a very popular teacher. Maria has served the Branford High School community as a drama coach for three decades. She has directed and produced classic and contemporary plays for the fall drama series to the point where the fall semester would not be complete without an Ogren production. Maria has the ability to take a novice actor and nurture him or her into a quality performer and, in the process, earn a new friend. Maria’s teaching colleagues view her as a consummate professional who they can rely upon for sage advice or a sympathetic ear. They respect her gargantuan knowledge and skills; she is a professional giant in their eyes.
Maria Ogren has taught English at Branford High School from 1972 and continues to the present. She has taught at every level. She taught Freshman English, Sophomore English Honors, Junior English Honors as well as Junior Comprehensive American Literature, and both Senior World Literature and Senior Advanced Placement English. Maria always sought to expand her knowledge and expertise. She attended conferences, seminars, and workshops at the Yale Museum of British Art, the Eugene O’Neill Theater, the Hartford Stage and Long Wharf Theater. She attended an Advanced Placement Summer Institute at St. Joseph’s College in Maine. After attending a summer program of East Asian Studies at the University of Indiana, she introduced Korean literature and used her knowledge and interest to establish deeper ties with her Asian students. Whatever Maria learned she shared with her students. Everything came alive in her classroom. When she taught the Youth in Shakespeare’s Plays, an elective course, she put on a full Elizabethan feast complete with costumes of the time period. When she taught a unit on comedy, her students acted out scenes and explained the basis of the comic effect. Of course, the other “hat” Maria wore was as director of the Fall Plays. She directed 32 dramas. She included a number of Shakespeare plays and was soon known as the resident expert on Shakespeare’s work. She chose plays that in some cases, her students had never heard of. Maria knew all of the plays had something to teach all of us Most importantly, Maria was always there for her students. Although a full-time teacher, Maria always made herself available to talk with her students answering questions or just to lend an ear. Her students always respected her and sought her opinion and advice. As a colleague of Maria’s, I have always respected and admired her work inside her classroom and on stage. I nominate her without hesitation.
All the ways that Maria Ogren has impacted my life are too numerous to mention. Aside from her dedicated teaching career, she has directed the High School Fall Play for many years. Her vision for each production starts with a crazy idea, and always develops and molds into intricate think pieces that leave you sometimes feeling better about yourself, or reflecting on what is around you. I've had the honor of knowing Maria as a teacher first. What I learned under her directorial tutelage I was able to adapt to my college theatre experience and professionally. Now, as her colleague, we get to work together and teach current students the joy that theatre can bring. "MO", as her students have affectionately nicknamed her, will continue to impact students long after the play is over, for the memories and lessons are remembered and applied throughout an entire life.