“The hardest thing to adjust to has been balancing all [of] the different responsibilities. It’s not just about teaching — there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes [stuff] like paperwork, communicating with parents, and keeping track of each student’s progress, as well as making time to see family and friends, but I feel like I am getting the hang of things now.”

“I wanted to become a counselor so I could help students, [as] I really enjoy helping with the college and career planning component, and also really enjoy getting to have conversations with students and teachers. I always have enjoyed the mental health component, and being part of a team [and] I’ve heard nothing but good things about Rock Ridge. I love how enthusiastic the students are, and how welcoming the staff is, [and] I felt immediately connected with the team when I started working here. I just felt like the community that Rock Ridge fosters is really special compared to a lot of other schools, [and] I really wouldn’t want to be at any high school besides Rock Ridge, It’s a really great community.”

“I was once an English language learner, and I remember how difficult it was for me to access the materials needed to learn, and so I thought to myself, ‘Why not become something that can inspire and help other kids [who]were just like me?’ I’m looking forward to continuing learning [about] Rock Ridge and being part of this culture. It’s really cool what’s going on here. The kids are great. The staff is great. I’m looking forward to hopefully being successful with the women’s soccer team here and bringing some success to them as well.”

“I chose to become a teacher because I really value the conversation behind literature, and I love learning how other people interpret text. I don’t think I’ve had a hard time adjusting [to Rock Ridge] because of the support that I’ve gotten from the staff and even students included. I honestly would say it’s been a great experience. The thing that stands out is the support because even when I was a student teaching, I didn’t really see a lot of support given to the teachers who worked there. So just knowing that I have the support of my mentor teachers, other English teachers, and even the new teachers to Rock Ridge this year when I see them around, we always have a little conversation. I feel like it seems more like a community than anything else.”

“I chose to become a math teacher because I enjoyed the subject so much during grade school. I’ve also experienced both spectrums of completely understanding the material and also being completely clueless. I want to cater to all my students and make them comfortable with asking questions when they’re confused or helping their classmates when they’re stuck. The hardest thing to adjust to was moving around to each of the different rooms I was in. It didn’t take long to adjust to — just something different than what I’m used to.”

“I like working with students, especially high school-age students, so this [career] just seemed like a natural direction to go in. What’s great about our Introduction to Early Childhood Education class is that we work with the Head Start program, a preschool program that is down the hallway. Students rotate in, and they help the children out on the playground or with small group activities. I think it’s a good experience for them to be able to have that opportunity to do hands-on experiences with the kids. It’s fun to get outside and work with the kids. For Gourmet Foods, we try to cook something every other class. I like trying new recipes with the students and seeing them get excited about cooking because cooking is a really great life skill to have, even if you don’t want to go on to be a professional chef.”

“During my college experience, I was mainly planning on going to med school, [like] the doctor route. During my undergrad, I volunteered at a lot of stuff that mentored and taught students in the school area, and I realized that I enjoyed doing that type of work, and [so] after that, I realized that I want to be a full-time teacher and switch career into doing that. The students here in Rock Ridge are amazing, super energetic, and I really enjoy the whole community. I am looking [forward] to building up relations with students and getting to know them, [and] just having conversations outside of academics.”

“Everyone has been very friendly — not [just] friendly, but helpful. If I have a question, they will answer [it] very kindly. I am also looking forward to getting to know students better. There are some nice things about teaching for more than a year at a place because there are a few students here who [actually] I have taught in the Academies. And it is always nice to see them in the halls and catch up with what they are doing now. I taught them as freshmen and now they are juniors. Being able to maintain those connections even after I taught them, I think that’s something that I am looking forward to.” 

“I always loved Spanish class as a kid. I loved that it was creative. We had the opportunity to create poems and presentations and songs, and I loved learning about other cultures, so it just always interested me, and then I decided to pursue that path. I’m looking forward to doing some creative projects, allowing them [students] to research different countries and then making personal connections through these projects.”

“The staff and students made it really easy to transition [to Rock Ridge]. [Seeing] how much the teachers and the admin care about seeing success and it goes beyond just saying ‘Oh, we want them to have good grades,’ but actually, ‘What does success mean?’ For a lot of the kids, it’s making sure they’re in a good space with their mental health, or that they know there are people in this school that care about them beyond just what they’re doing from nine to four. I was blown away by how much the community at large, not just the school itself, but the community, rallies around the school. So that’s been the biggest thing that I’ve noticed being here, and it’s really impressive, coming from a different area seeing that. It really amazes me how connected everything feels. I think it helps that the school is literally built into a neighborhood. Like, you can really feel that it’s a part of the community and not a separate piece.”

“My first teaching job was high school business, and I’ve kind of always missed high school, so I was happy to have the opportunity to come back. I have two alumni daughters. My oldest is Kylie. She graduated in [2022] and she was a marketing student. My youngest is Maggie, and she graduated last year, so I knew and was familiar with Rock Ridge, and I really loved the administration and the staff here. My undergraduate degree is in business and marketing; I love marketing. It’s something that makes a lot of sense to me, and I feel like students actually are using marketing all the time, and they don’t recognize that that’s what it is. I just like to help people make connections and understand that it’s a content area and it’s a career path option that is a solid path forward for people.”