What is your name, position, and what are your pronouns? My name is Kellie Mucha; I’m an English and reading teacher, and my pronouns are she/her.
What are your responsibilities at Niles North? My responsibilities are being an English teacher—I teach Freshman English, College Prep World Literature, and sophomore reading. My responsibilities, especially for my senior English class, are to teach students about the world around them and [help them] gain new perspectives, as well as with my freshmen.
What did you do before you came to Niles North? Before I came to Niles North, I actually worked in finance in the city. I decided, after a few years of feeling unfulfilled at my job, to go back to school to become a teacher. I chose English because I thought that I could make the biggest difference as an English teacher, and I’ve always loved reading. I wanted to help my students learn to love reading as much as I did because I didn’t love reading when I was in high school.
How have your previous experiences prepared you for your job as a teacher? Having an experience where I hated my job helped me realize how fortunate I am to have a job that I love so much. My experiences as a student helped me shape who I am as a teacher and helped me become more successful here because I learned a lot about people from different places and different perspectives. It really helped me realize how to be an inclusive teacher and represent everyone in my classroom.
Were you always expecting to be where you are now? No, I expected to work in finance, probably until I retired. I had hoped, being a student taught here, that I would end up here, but I didn’t know that I would, so I feel very fortunate to be here.
What do you like to do when you get home? What I like to do is probably different from what I end up doing. I always clean my dishes from lunch; that’s what I do when I first get home. Then I try to do some independent reading. I also like to work out after school, but that doesn’t happen as often as I would like it to.
What is your favorite book and/or your favorite genre? My favorite genre of books… I would probably lean the most towards an enjoyable read, which is a thriller. But the books that I like to read the most are classic, thought-provoking literature. I also lean a lot towards young adult literature because that’s what I teach my freshmen. My favorite book ever is The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. My second favorite book is a book called Linden Hills by Gloria Naylor, which is an interesting read if anyone wants to try it out.
What is a book or genre you want to get into but haven’t yet? Fantasy. I like watching fantasy movies, but when I read fantasy novels, sometimes I can’t always imagine what they’re talking about, so I struggle reading them.
How do you like to spend your weekends? I like to spend my weekends hanging out with my friends and family, for sure. I really like to try new restaurants, so I try to do that once a week. I also spend a lot of time grading over the weekend and doing schoolwork.
What is something you wish more people knew about your job? Sometimes I wish that my students knew that I probably spend just as much time outside of school doing work as you guys do homework.
Do you find yourself building better connections with your students because you are a younger teacher? Yes, I think that definitely helps, and sometimes I do fear losing some of that connection as I age.
What book character do you relate to the most? One of my favorite books ever is Frankenstein and I want to say the creature (Frankenstein’s monster). I feel like I have a thirst for knowledge that I get through reading and an innocence of picking up knowledge as well.
