By Sowmya Krishna, Appmaster
After pursuing a psychology degree at James Madison University, American Voices and Comparative Literature: Science Fiction/Dystopia teacher Dori Madigan went to graduate school to pursue teaching. Now, she is in her 10th year at Conestoga as an English teacher.
Q: What made you want to become a teacher?
A: I love the classroom environment. I’ve always wanted to give knowledge to people and see them understand something that they didn’t understand before. I loved the idea of just being able to completely transform an aspect of a person’s life through education.
Q: Why did you decide to teach English specifically?
A: I’ve always loved English. I’ve always loved escaping into stories, and I’ve always loved just expressing my life experiences through writing.
Q: What was your journey leading up to Conestoga like?
A: My first job actually was out west in Arizona. I moved and started (teaching) elementary school for nine years, and then I taught middle school for about five years. Finally, I moved up to the high school, and I’ve been (at Conestoga) ever since.
Q: What are the differences between teaching elementary, middle and high school?
A: No one will ever know how hard an elementary school teacher works unless they teach elementary school. Those kids depend on you for everything. You’re a mother figure, you’re a nurse, you’re a coach, you’re a cheerleader, all of these things besides just teaching them.
Q: What is the most memorable experience you’ve had in the district?
A: I started at T/E Middle School for one year, and I had sixth graders that I taught again as sophomores at Conestoga and that I taught again as seniors. It was crazy to look at them and see how much they grew.
Q: What are some of your favorite things to do outside of teaching?
A: I love to read, obviously. I belong to a pickleball club, so I love playing pickleball. And I’m obsessed with jigsaw puzzles. You can see I have them hanging in my room. I like to do literary-themed jigsaw puzzles for stress relief.
Q: What is your favorite genre to read?
A: I like horror stories. I like mystery. I like all the speculative stuff out there that is super creative and spooky and makes you kind of think about what the world could be like.
Q: What book are you currently reading?
A: I’m reading a collection of stories about Native American folklore, legends and myths. They’re all really creepy and scary.
Sowmya Krishna can be reached at [email protected].
