Meet Sharon Heyman
Sharon, center, with, from left, son Larry, husband Barry and son David, at the top of Mount Willard in the Crawford Notch, NH.
A Profile by Annie Hoyer
Sharon and her husband Barry Zitser have been members of BHC for about 10 years. She organizes BHC’s Walking Fridays and helps with hospitality for the White Mountain Jewish Film Festival. Let’s learn more about this dynamic woman.
Sharon grew up in Douglaston, Queens. She attended the University of Connecticut, majored in English, and graduated in 1972. On campus, Sharon was drawn to the civil rights movement; the plight of people asking only to be given an equal opportunity affected her deeply. It’s fair to say this cause influenced the course of her professional life.
When she finished college, Sharon knew she wanted to help underserved people – but first, she took a break to travel. She held various jobs to earn money for her adventures, first to Europe and later to Mexico to learn Spanish. Once she’d satisfied the urge to wander, she returned to school to become certified to teach. Then she chose to work in Hartford, in an inner-city school district, where she remained for the next 35 years.
Sharon likes new challenges. So, during those 35 years, she taught English, then went back to earn a certification to teach math. “I thought I could be more useful as a math teacher,” she said. Later, she became the head teacher in her school and ended her career as the Director of Mathematics for the district. During those years she continued her own education, earning several master’s degrees.
As a teacher, Sharon tried to show students how math applied to their lives. She devised a lesson in which students completed their own tax returns. “They always got money back from the government,” Sharon said. “The kids were so excited - ‘I got a check!’” Later, she focused on applying math to science by engaging in interactive STEM projects. As an administrator, she encouraged teachers to create lessons that helped students make sense of math and give them confidence that they could be successful.
During those years, Sharon also organized a hiking club. She believed it was important for students to challenge themselves with new experiences. “We did mostly day hikes, but we managed one overnight camping trip each year,” she explained. Students had to raise money and the teachers helped out. She laughed as she relayed the concerns friends had that she was taking teenagers on these trips. They were always cooperative and respectful, she explained. Later, she managed to get grant money to take groups up to the White Mountains and stay at the AMC lodges at Pinkham Notch and the Highland Center. For a number of students, this was the first time they had been out of Connecticut.
Sharon retired from public school teaching, but she continued to use her accumulated knowledge and experience by becoming a teaching assistant while working towards a PhD in Mathematics Education Research at UConn. Presently, she teaches Math as an adjunct at the University of Hartford. She is also training to become a docent at the New Britain Museum of American Art where she can use her teaching experience to lead school group tours.
Sharon has two sons who hiked with her over the years, including a three-day trek across the Presidentials. Her husband, Barry, is a devoted hiker and cross-country skier, so they had a love of the outdoors in common when they met. Barry started hiking in New Hampshire when he was in his 20s and once they were together, the couple spent a lot of time in the North Country. About 20 years ago, they decided to build a weekend retreat in the area with no particular town in mind. “We stumbled on Bethlehem, but it was a good stumble,” Sharon said, “largely because of my involvement in the BHC.” Sharon and Barry now divide their time between the home they’ve built in NH and their condo in Bloomfield, CT.
Sharon’s son David is a high school teacher who lives near her in Connecticut. This enables her to see her two grandchildren Leora (6) and Lincoln (5) quite often. Her other son, Larry, is a doctor who works and lives in the Dartmouth area. He has one son, Rowan (6). To Sharon’s delight, the three cousins often get together at her home in Bethlehem. Sharon spends the time she’s not with her grandchildren reading, playing mahjongg, doing yoga, going out with friends, and walking daily.
Sharon grew up in a kosher home and attended a Conservative synagogue, where she had a Bat Mitzvah. In Connecticut, she gravitated to a more alternative approach to Judaism by joining a Chavurah of about 60 families. The members created their own Shabbat, High Holiday, and Bar/Bat Mitzvah services; ran a Sunday school for their children; and supported each other through life cycle events. She still celebrates holidays with them if she’s in town. Otherwise, BHC is now her religious home.