Reserved Ruler

Similarly, towards the beginning of Menna’s SCA journey, she found some of her duties unfamiliar and difficult. Generally a reserved and introverted individual, Menna herself finds it funny that she has found herself in the limelight standing in the middle of a 2,000+ student pep rally and running through seas of students at football game tailgates. However, she often shares that working towards a common goal to provide an invaluable experience for the school community is her main intention.

However, when Menna finds herself in the classroom, she feels comfortable with her students — just how she hopes they feel with her. “I do not enjoy speaking at a faculty meeting or even presenting at a conference — I find that very nerve-racking,” Menna said. “But, being a teacher, I like to hope that in my classroom, I kind of have a more collaborative community, where I don’t feel intimidated to speak in front of my students. I have always enjoyed being around students much more than adults.”

While it may be astonishing to some that introverted individuals like Menna enjoy a profession surrounded by people such as teaching so much, it is not a huge surprise given that reserved teachers are often great listeners, calm and collected leaders, and extremely dedicated. Furthermore, introverts are well-suited in performing essential skills like crisis management — an essential trait in the classroom — even outperforming extrovert counterparts. According to the “Inc.,” an American business magazine, introverts are more “insightful” and able to carefully consider and pre-assess others’ motivations, which are key skills in leadership and management.

Duellman agrees with this sentiment and believes that the loudest leaders are not always the strongest and most capable. “Sometimes, we think of leaders as people who stand and yell and are loud,” Duellman said. “That’s not true at all; some of our best leaders in the history of the world are those that not only lead by example, but [have a powerful presence and are underestimated].”

History teacher Victoria Webb particularly enjoys Menna’s task-oriented approach to her leadership role. “She is quick to solve problems, answer any and all questions, and effectively communicates updates from administration,” Webb said. “She is simply the glue that holds us all together, and we are lucky to have such a hardworking leader of the team.”

For this reason, Menna has performed phenomenally as the social sciences department chair. She assumed the position in 2021 after social sciences teacher Allison Alison left her position. Though Menna doesn’t particularly enjoy public speaking and jokingly told Duellman that she would only accept the position if she would “never have to speak in a microphone,” Duellman has seen that when Menna does give presentations or speeches, she is “very good at it.” 

Duellman believes that it is powerful to have a leader like her lead a department, especially to provide representation. “You have a woman in leadership who is also growing the voices of women in our school,” Duellman said. 

Through her role as department chair, Menna has also guided new teachers like Webb. Webb felt that she “won the lottery” working alongside and learning from Menna during her first year as a teacher during the 2021-22 school year. Because of the pandemic, her student teaching experience was mostly virtual, but she felt that Menna’s guidance made the transition much smoother. “[Menna] went out of her way to answer my questions morning, noon, and night — and she still does,” Webb said. “By working with Ms. Menna, I have learned so much about pacing content, different instructional strategies, and grading. Reflecting on last year, I know that coming to Rock Ridge was the best decision I ever made, and one of the greatest gifts to come out of it is Ms. Menna’s mentorship and friendship.”

Outside of the history department, Menna has made her mark on the Phoenix community, from working with faculty to coordinate countless events to inspiring former students to pursue teaching.

Like Menna, Student Activities and Engagement Coordinator Annamika Hacikyan joined Rock Ridge during its charter year and remembers the first year of the SCA as a time when the two teachers who ran the program were “just trying to figure out what to do.” When Menna helped take over, “she took SCA and ran with it and built this school culture that we have,” Hacikyan said. “I saw her to be dedicated and really excited about the opportunity, and I have seen her work tirelessly to continue to instill that spirit.”

The latest addition to the Rock Ridge staff, new history teacher Aisha Ahmed, first met Menna in her junior year when she took AP U.S. History and became a yearbook assistant editor. “[Menna] had talked to [her history students] about yearbook and recruited some of my friends and I to join yearbook next year, and that was the best decision I could have made,” Ahmed said. “I started as a normal staff member, but as the year went on, I realized there was way more work for our three editors, and Ms. Menna needed [assistance] because others weren’t really carrying their weight.”

As of the new semester, Ahmed now works as the first Rock Ridge graduate to join the school’s faculty after substituting in history and yearbook classes. She has found that getting to know Menna on a more personal level has been nothing but enjoyable and inspiring. “Of course I loved [working with Menna] when I was an editor, but there’s something so special and cool about being able to work on it as friends and colleagues,” Ahmed said. “I never would have imagined that I would be working with her on more yearbooks, but I’m so happy to have that opportunity.”