LATROBE, PA – Dr. Kimberlee Gorr, G’17, truly is a lifelong learner.
The Carpenter, Wyoming, resident was inspired at a young age to pursue a career in education thanks to her mother, who served for many years as an English teacher and oftentimes recollected her positive classroom experiences over the years. “I knew that I would one day want to be a mother, while also wanting a career,” said Gorr, who remembers helping her mother set up her classroom each summer as a child. “I saw how my mom was an incredibly successful educator, with a great career, and also an amazing mother who was able to attend all my band concerts, softball games and other extracurriculars. I saw how she was able to successfully balance a career in education with being a mother and I wanted the same for myself.”
While Gorr knew early in life that she wanted to be an educator, it took a few years to develop a clearer picture of what her focus would be. After pondering English, then music due to her involvement in the Norwin High School band, she finally settled on elementary education with a concentration in middle level mathematics.
After completing her undergraduate coursework in 1994 at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Gorr tackled her first teaching job at Avon Grove School District in West Grove—a Philadelphia suburb—where she taught middle school math and social studies until June 2001. “I have always been a learner. At the interview for my first teaching job, I described myself as a ‘lifelong’ learner and it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Gorr said. “In my first school district, the teacher contract allowed teachers to advance on steps based on credits, called a master’s equivalency. So, I began taking courses very early in my career, but not in a defined path.”
She returned to western Pennsylvania in August 2001, taught in the Mount Lebanon School District for one year and was responsible for professional development in mathematics instruction for all staff at the district’s elementary schools. From there, Gorr returned to her high school alma mater for two years as a middle school math and language arts teacher before taking a full-time parenting break. “When I moved back to western Pennsylvania, I began taking classes at Seton Hill University in their inclusive education master’s program. We decided to expand our family while I was in the middle of that program, and I took some time off to be a stay-at-home mom. By the time I went back to work, Seton Hill had discontinued that program, so I wasn’t able to finish.”
In August 2008, Gorr transitioned to teaching in a Catholic school at Aquinas Academy in Greensburg. She worked there for a number of years before advancing to Greensburg Central Catholic (GCC) Junior-Senior High School, where she taught math, history and science in grades seven through 12; served as a teacher leader; and coached cross-country and track.
During her tenure at GCC and driven by a desire to advance in secondary education leadership, Gorr enrolled at Saint Vincent College in its curriculum and instruction master’s program and added a K-12 principal certification. She earned a degree and certificate in 2017.
The graduate studies allowed Gorr to network with Dr. Robert Thomas, a retired adjunct professor of education at the College and her principal certification advisor. “I worked with Dr. Thomas for several semesters,” Gorr said. “He had such a wealth of knowledge and expertise and was such a great mentor as I worked through the program.”
Among Gorr’s fondest memories at the College is early in her master’s studies as she enrolled in Instructional Technology. Graduate students had to design a lesson using virtual reality goggles; Gorr used her own children as “guinea pigs” with the technology and later incorporated her lesson design into her classes at GCC. “I am such an education nerd that I actually looked forward to completing the comprehensive exam at the end of the program and taking the administrator’s licensure exam,” Gorr recalled. “Dr. Thomas said I earned one of the highest scores of any student he had ever had on the licensure exam. Like I said, education nerd.”
“Having been a teacher, parent, administrator and student in Catholic education, there is truly nothing that can compare,” Gorr added. “I feel like the master’s program and administration certification program prepared me well for the roles that followed me earning the degree and license.”
In July 2017, Gorr started at Saint Vincent-Saint Mary High School—a four-year private, college preparatory Catholic high school in Akron, Ohio—first as an assistant principal, then as principal. She spent six years working at the school.
“I continued to reach out to [Thomas] frequently following graduation as I considered other career moves,” Gorr said. “While at Saint Vincent, he frequently encouraged me to get my superintendent’s license, and I always shied away from considering that. However, after being an assistant principal and high school principal, I did decide to get my superintendent license.”
Gorr earned the license in 2021 from Ursuline College and started in July 2023 as director of Catholic school leadership—a superintendent role—in the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming. During her tenure there, the lifelong learner studied for a Doctor of Education in curriculum and instruction, which she earned in August 2024 from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. She later advanced to the National Catholic Educational Association in October 2025, where she served as its director of professional learning.
Gorr now works as the national partnerships director at Friendzy Co., whose mission is to provide schools and organizations with character education programs that empower educators and students to grow into confident, compassionate individuals. As part of her duties, Gorr works to cultivate executive-level relationships with superintendents, diocesan leaders, school networks and key educational stakeholders.
While Saint Vincent was one of several stops along the way during Gorr’s studies as a lifelong learner, the College is still visible in her rearview mirror. “I truly appreciated getting to know so many of my classmates as we worked our way through the program. To go to class and hear about their schools and their experiences was amazing,” she said as she reflected on her time at Saint Vincent. “I fondly remember graduation day, too. I was one of the older candidates in my group and often felt like the group mom, but I really enjoyed spending time with them and working through many projects together.”
Drawing on those experiences, Gorr said she hopes future generations of educators studying at Saint Vincent College strive to be lifelong learners and constantly aim for growth and self-improvement. “Take advantage of the experiences your professors have had and are willing to share and learn from their experiences that they use to introduce or reinforce material,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions and dig deeper into content that interests you. Be a reflective practitioner. Always be asking, ‘How did that go? What went well? What could I have done differently? How can I make it better next time?’”
Meanwhile, Gorr’s lifelong learning journey continues.
“I have had such amazing experiences in my graduate-level classes,” she said, “and hope to one day give back and teach future educators or current educators advancing their own careers.”
