English teacher Meg Geronimos had a realization about a possible career back when she was the head majorette at Bethel Park High School.
“I found that I was really good at teaching, because I had to pick up routines and teach them to the girls on the squad. And so from there, I decided to combine my two interests – both my love of reading and my newly found love of teaching.”
Geronimos studied English secondary education at Shippensburg University, and she is now a contracted teacher after one year as a full-time sub.
“I think it’s important to make sure that students can relate the readings that we have in English class to their own lives. For example, today we were reading “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” and so we actually ended up having this really interesting discussion, and people started opening up about the instances where they’d be daydreaming as little kids.” she said. “So I think it’s about building that environment, because you’re not going to grow as a student if you don’t see the value in learning.”
For Geronimos, high school is about far more than academics.
“We talk about growing yourself and finding your identity here in high school. Like, who do you want to be?” Geronimos said. “They’re starting to build the foundations of what they’re going to achieve outside of high school.”
But of course, Geronimos is an English teacher, so her love of reading is a prerequisite.
“I remember even when I was 4 or 5, my friend, who I’ve known since then, started reading before me. And so that competition really fueled me, and from there I’ve just loved reading,” she said. “My grandma has a house in St. Augustine, and so anytime we’d be over there during the summer, I’d have this whole stack of books to read. I found my love in dystopian literature, like The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games … I still love those novels so much.”
Outside of school, Geronimos loves hockey.
“My brother played for a number of years, and I’m a huge Pens fan,” she said.
In teaching her students, Geronimos values resiliency, and she wants to show her students that difficulties can be overcome.
“It’s about showing them that anytime you do have mistakes, it’s not a reflection necessarily on us. But we have to grow and make those efforts in order to be who we want to be.”
