Linden High graduate helps students find information, opportunity and a place to belong

LINDEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NJ (Sept. 18) — Maria Pereira Colish teaches Linden High School students to find reliable information. She helps them plan service projects, navigate college coursework and choose their next book. Sometimes, she simply listens.

“I’m here for the kids. I do it for the kids,” Colish said.

The New Jersey School Boards Association has named Colish, the school’s library media information specialist, the 2026 winner of its Unsung Superheroes in Education Award in the librarian/media specialist category.

A Linden High graduate who later raised three children in the district, Colish now works in the library where she spent time as a substitute teacher while earning her undergraduate degree. She said she was surprised to learn she had been nominated.

“This statewide recognition celebrates your dedication to public education and the difference you make in our students’ lives,” Superintendent Dr. Atiya Y. Perkins wrote in a congratulatory message. “Your work gives the Linden Public Schools community every reason to ROAR with pride.”

Colish will be recognized at NJSBA’s Workshop 2026 on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 9:30 a.m. at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

The Work Behind the Honor

At the LHS Library Learning Commons, Colish works with teachers to bring library skills into classroom lessons. She introduces students to the district’s digital databases and helps them find sources they might otherwise encounter behind paywalls.

She also advises the student-led Book Club. When students first approached her about starting it, she expected three or four participants. Instead, it grew into what she calls a “very vibrant book club.” Members choose the books and bring their own perspectives to the discussion.

“I let it be student led so that they’re more connected to it,” Colish said.

Colish advises Global Connections, which encourages students to volunteer and consider issues beyond their immediate community. Its activities have included a beach cleanup. She also co-advises the BL.A.C.C. Black Cultural Club.

As the Kean Scholar Academy liaison, Colish advises students enrolled in both high school and college coursework. As coordinator of Creativity, Activity, Service, or CAS, for the International Baccalaureate program, she helps students plan the service work required for their diploma. That can mean connecting a student with a person, an organization or a community resource that can help turn an idea into a project.

A Library for Learning and Belonging

Colish wants students to know what a library can offer long after graduation. Along with books and research support, the LHS space has areas for instruction, quiet study, meetings and projects.

Students come in for different reasons. Some need help with an assignment. Others want to talk about a book, borrow a supply or ask about the plants Colish tends in the library.

The conversations matter to her. She recalled a student who would return to share her reactions to each new stretch of a book. Colish encouraged her to keep reading and come back to discuss what happened next. She also said she enjoys talking with boys who read, challenging the assumption that they are uninterested in books.

“I wanna hear critical thinking,” she said. “I wanna hear those conversations.”

Those daily exchanges connect students with the skills, opportunities and relationships at the heart of Linden’s mission and ROAR initiative.

Coming Home to a Calling

Colish originally considered becoming a therapist. While studying for her undergraduate degree and working as a substitute teacher at Linden High, she spent time in the library and saw another way to support young people across subjects and interests.

She went on to earn a master’s degree in library science and has worked at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

“You were nominated by an individual who believes in your good work and wanted to shine a spotlight on everything you do,” NJSBA wrote in its award notification.

For Colish, much of that work still happens in small moments: a student finding a source, starting a conversation or coming back to tell her what happened in the next chapter.