Following in her father’s footsteps by pursuing a career in law enforcement, Officer Marisa Stewart is making her mark as the newest School Resource Officer at Scituate High School.
A 2014 SHS graduate, Stewart said growing up in Scituate was an incredible experience. Highlighting the close-knit community and her connections through sports teams, Stewart said SHS is where she formed relationships with people she still considers her closest friends.
“It’s cool to be back now to see my old teachers,” Stewart commented, citing her former high school English teacher (and current middle school principal) Ryan Beattie as one of her most influential teachers: “He has a certain sense of humor that I always admired.” Beattie’s personality and teaching style inspired her to request a college recommendation letter from him. Stewart said her high school education made her feel academically prepared for her college studies.
A 2018 graduate of UMass Boston, where she majored in psychology, Stewart continued her education and earned a master’s degree in forensic psychology from Southern New Hampshire University in 2019.
The daughter of Scituate Chief of Police Michael Stewart, who retired in May 2020, Stewart joined the police force shortly after her father’s retirement. Ironically, Stewart didn’t consider becoming a police officer until she was a graduate student: “My dad was like, why don’t you just take the Civil Service Exam? The more I thought about it, I was like, that’s the perfect job for me,” she recalled.
Although Stewart has been working for the police force full-time for two years, she will receive additional training for her position as a resource officer, participating in 40 hours of instruction at the end of November. Enthusiastic about her new role working with teens, Stewart, whose aunt is SHS physical education teacher Kathleen McCarthy, hopes to support students in all areas: “I’m a huge advocate for mental health. I know that this age in particular [high schoolers] struggle most with mental health,”
Noting that her focus is educating students, Stewart said, “When I pull cars over, I try to give lessons instead of tickets.” She added, “If I can talk to you, and you learn a lesson from me, that is all I want.”