Amy McGuire, the daughter of an Assemblies of God pastor and a small town girl who has been living in the big city for two decades, is excited about her new position as the Roseau Elementary School principal beginning this fall.

Consider Ms. McGuire, who is married to an Irishman, an easy interview who never slows down about her life and times as a wife, educator, and mother of two young sons.

"My husband's family is proud of their Irish heritage, but I am not Irish," she said last week, speaking by cellphone from St. Paul.

"Both of the grandmas came from Sweden and both of my grandpas came fr...