New SCHS math teacher Susana Hernandez has always enjoyed helping people understand math-related topics. Her passion for teaching and helping her peers led her previous educators to suggest that she become a teacher.

Hernandez had difficulty choosing a career as a young adult in high school. Even though she loved teaching others, she had her doubts about teaching as a career. Hernandez had the fear of losing the love that was driving her to help people understand math.

“So I decided on a different career even though I’ve always loved math,” Hernandez said.

In college, Hernandez was set on having a biology-related job. She underwent three years of lab work and had the opportunity to delve deeper into the biology realm. Instead of being filled with excitement, Hernandez had a realization.

“Biology wasn’t what I wanted to do with my career,” Hernandez said. “Luckily, I received an internship to work with kids teaching math, following my passion.”

Hernandez started at Ace Charter school and taught math to students in fifth, sixth and eighth grade. While she was teaching a broad age group, Hernandez had the opportunity to teach summer school for high school students, where she realized she could help students with negative mindsets.

“I found it exciting to help students exceed their expectations of not feeling confident – who were far behind and disengaged – to become strong math students,” Hernandez said.

When Hernandez was offered a job to teach high school, she was thrilled to teach Algebra I and Geometry. Even though Hernandez was nervous about distance learning, she was excited to meet her new students.

According to Hernandez, her students have realized she is trying her best to make the classroom a comfortable place to communicate with her and ask questions, so they have been engaged. Hernandez is eager to continue to make the virtual classroom a safe place for her students. She believes she has been successful during distance learning, and student participation brings her joy.

“I was told by Mr. Shelby that his favorite thing about SCHS is the kindness that is strongly flowing within the student body,” Hernandez said.