What’s your name and position? Georgia Taxakis, math teacher and Greek Club sponsor.

How long have you been teaching at Niles North? I’ve been at Niles North for about 17 ½ years. I got hired at the end of first semester, so I started second semester of 2008. So it was January of 2008 when another teacher got to retire on his birthday.

How has Niles North changed since you’ve started working here? It’s grown in its diversity and its resources. There is a stronger emphasis on equity, inclusion in the classroom, and community. And I feel that it’s definitely evolved in its support of each student and their unique needs and talents. So I think it’s become a more inclusive place overall.

What do you hope to see from Niles North in the future? Where every single student feels like they have a place here, that they feel like they’re at home.

What do you like about teaching math? I currently teach AP Stats and geometry, and I feel that both those classes are just very relevant for students’ lives. Especially stats, because we pull from so many different disciplines that it makes it real and relevant and engaging and something that you guys will be able to use the rest of your life.

If you weren’t a math teacher, what would you teach? I have an older brother and a younger sister with disabilities, so special education was always something else that I was interested in. They always had teachers that were amazing, and it was just something that I felt the need to just kind of give back and support the students with special needs as much as my siblings were supported through the years.

What’s your favorite part about sponsoring Greek Club? Just being able to share our culture with the school and our heritage. And then [there are] students who are of Greek descent, but don’t know much about it, so it’s just really cool being able to connect and then share our culture with each other.

Can you tell me about your Greek dancing experience? So now, with kids, I haven’t been as active, but pre-kids, we would compete at FDF. In California, it’s called the Folklore Dance Festival. Greek dance troupes from all over the U.S. compete. We danced in the Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Channel Five Morning News, we’ve danced all over. Yeah, it was really fun. And so my face is on Greektown, Chicago, a book at Barnes & Noble. I was much younger. I was in college, but they took us on the top on the rooftop of the Parthenon. 

What’s your favorite Greek dish? My mom’s pastitsio. It’s like Greek lasagna but without red sauce—a perfect comfort food and a family favorite.

What’s the best Greek restaurant in the area? Probably Plateia, which is on Milwaukee Avenue. More fancy, downtown, It’s called Lyra. It’s a newer restaurant, but it’s delicious. More fancy, modern-ish Greek food.

Who’s somebody who inspires you? My mom. She obviously has two kids with disabilities. And when you have kids, your job is different as your kids grow older, right? And her job hasn’t ended, she still has to help them from dressing to bathroom to all of those things. She never really complains. She’s always positive. She always takes on extra things to help someone else out who’s in need, even though, she barely has any time to find time for herself. But she always does it with a smile, and she’s just– I’m in awe of everything she does and still does it well.

How do you usually spend your weekends? With my family. My kids are involved in Greek school and Sunday school. So they go to Greek school nine to one on Saturdays, and then Sunday School is 9:15 till 12:30 so we do that in the mornings, and then afternoon is just quality time altogether.

If you could travel somewhere new, where would you go? The Maldives. I’m drawn to the idea of a peaceful beach retreat, where I can unwind and recharge.

If you could go back in time and talk to your high school self, what advice would you give her? As a young woman in mathematics, I’d like to tell her to keep pushing forward, even when the path seems challenging. To just believe in herself and know that, as a female, our unique perspective is a strength, and it does matter.