Primordial Predetermination

Forever bound to the profession, Menna’s love for teaching became apparent when she began to conduct mock teaching sessions with her younger brother at age 5. She and a childhood friend even began holding a summer camp for children in the community where Menna was able to teach a wider range of subjects and students. “She always wanted to be a teacher, and her brother didn’t always like being her student,” Janet Gannon, Menna’s mother, said. “Probably when [Menna] was 9 or 10, we moved, and there was a space underneath the steps from the basement to the first floor which she made her schoolroom.”

Even equipped with a blackboard, calendar, miniature chairs, and fake student names, Menna quickly realized that she wanted to pursue teaching. However, she had yearned for one specific item: a gradebook. “I taught college, and I used to have a gradebook and I didn’t use it all, so I ripped some pages out and gave them to her,” Gannett said.

Menna’s love for the profession was furthered in the fourth grade, when she discovered the story of the Roanoke Colony, or the Lost Colony, and confirmed her love of U.S. history. She later attended the College of William and Mary, the University of South Carolina, and American Public University, attaining a B.A. in History & Secondary Education, M.Ed. in Language & Literacy, and a Graduate Certificate in U.S. History, respectively.

Decades later, this dream has become a reality. Menna approaches her teaching similar to her leadership positions in that she allows students to guide their learning, while providing them the necessary resources to succeed. In addition to teaching three AP U.S. history classes, Menna oversees the production of an award-winning yearbook, an activity that she has been part of her life since 7th grade.

Menna’s yearbook class organization and structure is fairly student-led and task-based, with senior editors-in-chief Miriam Ahmed and juniors Alisha Bojji, Naolee Makonnen, and Anisha Rapolu, leading the class’ production elements. After the first quarter of the school year, where new members are taught the basics of yearbook copy, design, and interviewing, staffers are assigned to work with either a yearbook editor or adviser and must complete a list of spreads and daily tasks for each class for a grade.

Rapolu joined the yearbook staff in her sophomore year in hopes of being a part of the award-winning organization because she enjoyed photography and the concept of the publication. After just one year, she became a co-editor-in-chief. Menna played a key role in Rapolu’s yearbook journey, from providing her the opportunity to pursue higher leadership to guiding her and the rest of the staff on how to master difficult writing skills required for yearbook. “The most valuable thing I learned [from Menna] was probably [how to write specifically for the yearbook], and learning the way that you write the dominant copy [the main text on a page].”