When she walked into her first law class, she never dreamed she would end up teaching. But now in her sixth year of teaching and her first year at SCHS, English teacher Jessica Grogan would not have it any other way.

Born and raised in San Jose, Grogan has always stayed local, earning her bachelors from San Jose State University and her masters and credentials for English and History from University of California Santa Cruz. Although she is currently a teacher, Grogan first wanted to be a lawyer.

“I went through a crisis in college,” Grogan said. “All I was thinking was: what am I going to do?”

After accepting a tutoring job, Grogan decided she wanted to be a teacher.

Before SCHS, Grogan taught at Buena Vista High School for five years, where she helped seniors with their college applications.

“It was fun,” Grogan said. “It was stressful but also exciting deciding what colleges to apply to.”

Grogan left Buena Vista High after half a decade in hopes of looking for something new.

“I wanted a change and I wanted to be at a school where the teachers were more collaborative.” Grogan said. “ I think I’ve found that.”

So far Grogan said she has been enjoying her time at SCHS.

“The students are super sweet and my colleagues have been very nice and warm,” she said.

Grogan is married and has a nine-month-old daughter. In her free time, Grogan enjoys hiking and traveling. She has already been to Europe three times and wants to see the whole world.  

“I want to go everywhere,” Grogan said. “I want to see every culture and taste every food.”

To all students, Grogan has one piece of advice: “Take advantages of all the opportunities in high school. To learn but also to do extracurricular activities and just take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.”