After 8 fulfilling years at Galileo, American Literature teacher Ms. Ma is bidding farewell to her students and colleagues on April 19th, leaving behind a legacy of passion and commitment to education as she embarks on a new chapter outside of the classroom.
After graduating from Galileo in 2012, Ms. Ma decided to pursue a career in teaching, and ended up back at her old school. “It was great, at the beginning it was kind of weird to be working alongside colleagues that were my teachers, but after a while I no longer saw it as my old high school but also as the place where I started my career and fostered new relationships.”
When asked why she was leaving so suddenly she said, “This is just something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and the opportunity came up and I wanted to take it.” Despite the bittersweet nature of leaving her students so close to the end of the year, she wants to seize the opportunity that has finally presented itself. “There’s really no ideal time to look for a job that’s outside of the classroom, the rest of the world doesn’t really operate on the academic calendar, which is unfortunate.”
Ms Ma. will be transitioning from the role of a classroom teacher to a new position in an education company. “It’s not ideal because nothing breaks my heart more than leaving in the middle of the school year and not being able to fulfill my duty as a classroom teacher, but it is the opportunity that I’ve been waiting for… when I saw that there was an opening in a company that I was really interested in, I kind of just applied not really thinking too much about it and when I got a job offer I just realized that if I don’t take this opportunity now I don’t know when the next one will come and from my experience job hunting has been rather difficult and challenging to transition from a job that is outside of the classroom.”
When asked about her favorite aspect of teaching, Ms. Ma reminisces about the connections she has forged with her students and colleagues over the years. “All the people, like the students that I’ve met and my colleagues and all the relationships that I’ve fostered over the last 8 years, makes me really sad”.
Ms. Ma says that while she wasn’t actively searching, she remained open to opportunities that aligned with her interests. Over the past two summers, she would search for any job opportunities she saw that she was interested in, ultimately finding the job that she is now going to shift to.
As Ms. Ma prepares to depart; she does have a plan to fill her absence. Her co-teacher, Ms. Lifson will take over her second and third periods, while a long-term substitute will take over her current place, ensuring that her replacement will have all the necessary plans and resources for a smooth transition.
