Born in Tampa, Mary E. Bryant graduated from Middleton High School in Tampa in 1951, and went on to Bethune Cookman College in Daytona, where she earned her B.S. in Elementary Education in 1955. She began her teaching career in 1955 at Douglas Brown Elementary in Okeechobee, Florida where she taught for three years. her first teaching position in Hillsborough County was at Henderson elementary School. she started teaching primary grades in 1960. In 1968 she became a learning specialist, which led to her first assignment as an elementary principal in 1971 at Phillip Shore Elementary School. Mrs Bryant lead Phillip shore Elementary until taking over as principal at Roland Park in 1974, where she remained until her appointment as general director of Area II in 1986. She remained in that position until 1992, when she became Assistant Superintendent of Support Services. Mrs. Bryant was given the honor of being named as the State of Florida's Ida S. Baker Award Winner. After more that 35 years of serving students in the School District of Hillsborough County and 40 years in education, Mrs. Bryant retired in June of 1997.