With the new school year, Springfield Township High School has brought on many faculty members. With four new teachers, one counselor, and one school nurse, there are a lot of faces that students can get to know!
The Chronicle went out to interview each of them.
Mr. Timothy Corey – Art
What classes do you teach?
I do the entry level courses, so Art I and Painting and Drawing. It’s a lot of new students in art who haven’t taken it before, which gives me a variety of different kids coming through.
What inspired you to start teaching?
This is my second career. I’ve always been an artist, but I was in the construction industry before this. I kind of got bored and I thought, “How can I make art more a part of my life?” so I decided that teaching might be interesting, also just a way to get more involved in art and it turns out that I love the teaching part. I’ve taught every level so far, and high school is my favorite.
What’s your favorite part of teaching?
Connecting with the students, kind of finding a way into connecting with them. Hopefully that will inspire them to be creative and feel safe in the art room because you can’t really make good art unless you feel safe.
What’s your favorite vacation spot?
I love the southwest, the Grand Canyon, Moab, and anything with the Red Rocks. So, Moab, Utah is my favorite.
Ms. Anjelica “Jelli” Vezzosi-Bickel – English
What inspired you to start teaching?
I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. That was my thing I wanted to be when I grew up from when I was a little kid.
What is your favorite part of teaching?
I really like working with teenagers. I don’t think I would be as successful as a teacher in elementary or middle school. I think I just vibe really well with teenagers, and I also think that I’m pretty good at explaining things a lot of different ways. So, if you don’t get something the first time, I can usually come up with another way to explain it or a different example.
What types of classes do you teach?
I teach ninth grade ELA, Honors and Academic. This is my first year at Springfield, but this is not my first year teaching. In the school where I taught before I taught theater, dual enrollment classes, freshmen seminar, creative writing, journalism. I’ve taught a bunch of ELA-umbrella classes. In the future I think there will be more of an opportunity for those classes too.
What’s your favorite vacation spot?
I have spent a decent amount of time traveling in the UK and Ireland, so I would say that sort of region.
Ms. Vezzosi-Bickel also wanted to mention that she is a Springfield Alumni!
Mrs. Kelly Moore – Nursing
What inspired you to start nursing?
I have been a nurse for over ten years now, and I think just in general it is to help people. I found my calling when I started working at CHOP and I found that I really love working with the youth.
What’s your favorite aspect of nursing in a school?
Getting to know the students. I like to sit down and be able to get to know them and have conversations with them. That’s not always an option at school, but I like to take advantage of the times when I can so I can just sit down and get to know the kids because it’s nice to have conversations with them.
What is your favorite vacation spot?
My normal favorite vacation, I guess, the beach, would probably be the classic answer. But I also really like to go to Disney World with my family. We try to go as much as we can.
Mrs. Julia Gatto – PE
Why did you start teaching?
I started teaching because I have a sister with disabilities, and I grew up as her caretaker. She had a teacher who did not accommodate her needs. So I ended up thinking, I could do that. And then I ended up becoming a teacher, where I get to help everyone find something they love.
Why do you like teaching?
I love teaching because I get to make connections with the kids. And I get to do something that I find really impactful and meaningful.
What’s your favorite food?
My favorite food is definitely a Chipotle burrito.
Mrs. Amy Holder – Counselor
Why did you want to become a counselor?
I began in education at the age of 23 as a studies teacher. Some middle school but mostly high school for almost 25 years, and I always loved opening my door and letting kids in at lunch or before and after school, and getting to know them. So I kind of knew toward the second half of my career that I wanted to do something more interpersonal. And so I went back and got my guidance degree so I could come and work with students, and I especially love talking to them about what their passions are and what they want to do in the future.
What are some of your favorite aspects of your job?
Getting to meet new students. So, you know, we’re new to Pennsylvania, which is why I’ve been a long-term sub. And at all the schools I’ve worked at, I love getting to meet new faculty as well as new students. And when I get to sit and talk to them like this, it just adds to my life to bring in new people and get to know about their passions.
What is your dream vacation?
So, when we lived in Florida, and I was a contract social studies teacher, we took students on educational tours to Europe, and that was like some of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. We got to go to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and then Ireland and Scotland, and then Italy, and traveling with students was, they absolutely made the trip for me, but then I also got to see these amazing countries that, you know, especially on a teacher’s salary, I would have never gotten to do. So that was a big highlight in my life.
Mr. Michael Winslow – Social Studies
Why did you want to become a teacher?
That’s a great question. It’s one that I struggle with sometimes. There’s never an easy answer. There are so many factors that I think lead into it, but I would say personal experiences I had with teachers in high school that made me really care about education, specifically social studies, and so I fell in love with it. I took it to college with me, and I just built on it from there.
Why do you love teaching?
I think it’s a job where I smile and laugh every day, and I know a lot of other jobs can’t necessarily say that. So it’s certainly a lot of work, and it can be hard at times, I think, just having the opportunity to connect with young people on a daily basis is a job that brings me a lot of happiness.
What’s your favorite food?
My favorite food, that is a good question. I’m currently in between favorites. If you had to ask me right now, I would say a spicy tuna roll.
