Humans of RASG, similar to Humans of New York, is a verbal snapshot of the people who make up our high school. Each human is asked to speak about themselves at length, and their monologue is recorded and transcribed verbatim. In order to keep it real, nothing is left out.
This week, the Warrior Word interviewed Ms. Joana Martin, one of our high school’s English teachers. Get to know her as she discusses her passion for dance and her impressive educational background!
Hi, my name is Joanna Martin and I teach English. This is my first year working at Hebrew Academy. Previously, I have worked at several other schools, tutoring and teaching all across Florida. Although I have worked at a private school before, this is my first time working at a Jewish one. I’ve taught a variety of subjects, due to being an Elementary teacher. Yet English has always been my favorite. I have always been skilled at English, so being an English teacher was never really a choice for me. There was a part of me that always knew I would end up on this path. I spend my free time around my family, and have been dancing since I was three years old. I was trained in ballet, and transferred to contemporary and modern dancing after high school. It was definitely not easy for me to balance my teaching and dancing. Unfortunately, I’ve had to cut down on dancing significantly. I still try my best to dance on the weekends and go to classes whenever I have the opportunity to. Fun fact about me: I am actually Jewish. I went to FAU for undergrad while studying English, and went to Brandeis for graduate school and took Judaic Studies. I am one of four children, with an older brother, younger brother, and a younger sister. Something very interesting about me is that I actually graduated from FAU with my bachelor’s degree at 17 years old, attending college at 13. I was homeschooled for part of my life, and my mother figured out a way for me and my siblings to take online college courses. As long as I was able to pass the Accuplacer test in Broward College, which I did, I was able to start taking college classes. After receiving my bachelor’s degree at 17, that same year I went to graduate school and got my Master’s at 21. Another fun fact about me is that I am a violinist.
Compiled by: Eliana Bensousssan (9th)