It\u2019s just after noon at Red Brolly Preschool in Georgetown. A dozen preschoolers sit quietly on the carpet in anticipation of story time. Teachers tidy up and prepare blankets and pillows for nap time to follow. And Amy Marsen \u201907 beams with pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s my husband, Kyle. He has reading duty today. This is truly a family affair,\u201d laughs Marsen, gesturing to Kyle perched on a preschool size chair. \u201cWe got licensed at the end of July, we had our ribbon cutting on September 2, and our first day of school was September 3.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Kyle and Amy are new owners of the school, it\u2019s a familiar setting for her and most of her staff. It\u2019s the former home of Pentucket Workshop, a beloved preschool that operated in the community for 53 years. Amy Marsen started working there as a student teacher while studying at NECC. Many of her fellow teachers started out the same way. When she learned the Pentucket Workshop was closing its doors, she felt it was a sign to step up and open her own preschool in its place.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, I can\u2019t let this be the end. I believe so strongly in supporting children and families. I knew I had to continue the work I loved because of the mission \u2014 and because of all I had learned from the many incredible teachers I worked alongside during my tenure. At the time, I didn\u2019t know if it was even possible \u2014 it felt like a far-fetched dream. There was so much to consider, figure out, and plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marsen says she\u2019s had a knack for caring for others for as long as she can remember. She gravitated toward helping younger family members and started babysitting from an early age. As she got older, however, she found she needed to apply those caretaking skills to her own mother, who struggled with several illnesses. By the time she was a student at Haverhill High School, the heaviness of homelife started to take a toll.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father\u2019s amazing, we had an amazing support system, but I think we all had, like, different roles, because my mom was sick. So, I feel like some of that played into not feeling as confident in myself and because my focus wasn\u2019t all on school and getting to that next step,\u201d she remembers.<\/p>\n
After graduation in 2002, she was working full-time at a local Marshall\u2019s store. She was on track to become a manager, until one day she thought about what it might mean down the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018I really don\u2019t want to do this. I want to be a teacher.\u2019 So, I went back to school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marsen enrolled at Northern Essex as an Early Childhood Education major and soon realized she\u2019d made the right choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring my time at NECC, I met incredible professors like Deirdre Budzyna and Gail Feigenbaum, whose guidance and encouragement were life changing. Their mentorship extended far beyond the classroom, shaping not only the teacher I became but also the way I view early childhood education as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t come from a business background \u2014 I am an educator through and through. But I\u2019m also resourceful, creative, and eager to learn. The business side can be learned; what I bring is a caring, empathetic style of leadership and unconditional love for what I do and who I serve.\u201d – Amy Marsen \u201907<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Marsen graduated in 2007 and went on to Fitchburg State University, where she earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in early childhood and interdisciplinary studies, along with her Massachusetts teaching license. She later returned to NECC for her director\u2019s certification and recently completed a certificate in Behavioral Health and Trauma in Early Childhood Education.<\/p>\n
Watching Her Dream Grow<\/h3>\n
Though the idea of opening her own school was daunting at first, Marsen says knowing she had the support of her family, her fellow teachers, and her former professors gave her the confidence to pursue her dream. She decided to give the school a new name\u2014Red Brolly is a playful term for an umbrella\u2014and a few coats of new paint. She was able to use a lot of the fixtures and furniture from the previous school, and the landlord was happy to make a few adjustments to get the space to match her vision. When they officially cut the ribbon on Red Brolly on September 2, NECC professors Deirdre Budzyna and Doris Buckley were there to celebrate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis preschool is truly my dream realized. I feel so blessed to be able to continue doing what I love, alongside people I love. I won\u2019t lie \u2014 I\u2019m both scared and thrilled at the same time. But as I often remind my own children: being brave doesn\u2019t mean not being afraid, it means moving forward in spite of your fears.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":32668,"template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"issue":[689],"magazine-location":[661],"class_list":["post-32667","alumnecc","type-alumnecc","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","issue-fall-2025","magazine-location-magazine-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Nurturing the Next Generation - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/alumnecc\/nurturing-the-next-generation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nurturing the Next Generation - NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Amy Marsen \u201907 has breathed new life into a beloved preschool It\u2019s just after noon at Red Brolly Preschool in Georgetown. 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