Teachers give loads of work, tests, and projects, but it is hard to imagine that they had lives before they taught us. They have families and they, in fact, were high schoolers, too (as hard as it may be to imagine). Teachers were once in our shoes, whether it may be struggling to pass a class, or being in the top of their class, or being division one in sports, president of the chess club, or both! 

Ms. Courtney Greer, an English teacher, mentioned soccer, a Latin club, and of course a “ridiculous amount” of reading in her teenage years! When asked what her favorite extracurricular activity was she said, “Most of my friends participated in the various shows my high school put on, and I made a lot of new friends that way as well.” She said that her extracurricular activities made her branch out and make new friends that year. Although nothing, in particular, sparked her interest in teaching, she said, “Latin classes and my participation in Latin Club definitely helped foster my love of Classical Studies, which I ended up majoring in (along with English) in college.” Even when you do not know exactly what you want to be in the future, experiences lead you to your profession or future as you go. It is interesting to note that she also was on a few of the girls soccer teams in high school!

Mrs. Barbara-Jean Mancini, one of the school’s guidance counselors, mentioned participating in dance classes and cheerleading, and she still actually teaches dance classes to this day. She also did a lot of reading and writing, which she is still currently doing. Mancini said she has always loved learning and dancing, so she knew she wanted a double major. “I had been teaching dance classes since I was 14 and knew I was good at it.” She did not, however, play sports in high school. “I played one season and I was awful!!” Trying new things during high school is so important so you can figure out what you like and what you do not like and strengths and weaknesses. It does not sound like Mancini enjoyed her softball experience very much. 

Mr. Nicholas Czbanowski, a history teacher, played tennis all four years of high school, did track, and did band. But how did he get to be a history teacher? He said, “I had always been good at history and was interested in it, but the teacher I had junior (and senior year by my request) was 100 percent the best teacher I ever had and inspired me.” The teachers you have can clearly change how you feel about a certain topic whether it’s for the better or worse. In this case, Mr. C’s teacher inspired him to be a history teacher which is admirable. On top of being an honor roll student, he mentioned doing many other sports and extracurricular activities which he suggests others do as well. 

In high school sometimes, it is hard to decide exactly what you want to be when you are older or what you want to eventually become. But as all of our teachers have come far, so will the people who know what they want to do, or the people that have absolutely no idea. Trying things you are interested in is vital in high school as is working to your strongest ability in class. A word of advice all the teachers gave was the more you participate, the wider a variety you will get to choose from or get a feel of when it comes to what you will or what you want to become.