Young Lady Headed to UMass Boston in September

By Kevin Devlin

She’s a mature, well-mannered, young girl who has a smile which lights up a room when she walks into it. Her name is Mary O’Shea.

Mary is the son of Robert “Bobby” and Kelley O’Shea. She has a younger brother named Robert and an older sister named Sara. She also has a beloved family dog named Larry. Last June, Mary graduated from Boston Latin Academy, and in the fall, will attend the University of Massachusetts in Boston, where she will study accounting.

As a youngster growing up in South Boston, Mary played a variety of sports. She played on the “E” and “D” teams in the South Boston Pop Warner Football League program.

“My mom brought me to the practices for cheerleading at the beginning of the season,” she said. “But I wanted to play football and ended up playing for two seasons.”

Mary played in the South Boston Youth Soccer League for seven years and enjoyed being part of a team, having fun, and being competitive. Additionally, Mary participated in the South Boston Little League and then played in the South Boston Girls Softball League for several years. She played first and third base and loved going home with the victories.

“I liked playing baseball and then softball,” Mary said. “Again, I liked the idea of being part of something, being part of a team, and I also liked winning most of all.”

This summer, Mary is working as a camp supervisor at the Condon Community Center’s “Fun in the Sun” junior age program. She enjoys working with the youngsters. They’re a lot of fun.

“I like working with the kids,” she said. ‘It’s fun. The kids are well-behaved and fun to be with every day.”

Mary loves South Boston. She enjoys life here and doesn’t have plans to leave any day soon. She has a great family, many friends and simply couldn’t see herself hanging her hat anywhere else.

“I love Southie,” she said. “I have a million ‘cousins’ even though we aren’t related. We’re just good friends who are like family and we are close and stick together. You can’t beat South Boston.”