By Yael Ben-Sira
Photos courtesy of Mrs. Bron
Joining GHS just this year, English teacher Mrs. Bron shares her story as an educator and as part of such an influential community. She starts us off with an inspirational story, telling us about a past project she had done with her students: “I used to do these projects called ‘Community Engagement’ projects where students researched something in their community that they wanted to add or help with. I had a student who
researched graffiti and gave a presentation about how we should incorporate more spaces for young people and people in general to do that. They are called something like ‘free art walls,’ and it led to a ‘free art wall’ being built in our community. It was really cool, and so I think that when you ask students to do things that ask them to think about the world beyond themselves, it gets them way more engaged and interested.”
Mrs. Bron doesn’t only encourage involvement in her students, but also immerses herself in the community. She shares that her biggest inspirations are women who look out for others and “go the extra mile”, as she says, to take care of those around them, a quality that she deeply admires. Similarly, Mrs. Bron’s biggest purpose in a community is to ensure young people have a safe place where they can “take a breath and just be human.” She strives to inspire her students to see the world from a broader perspective and to seek deeper meaning from experiences and challenges, explaining how watching her students grow throughout the year and knowing she played a significant role in that progress is the best part of being a teacher.
Surprisingly, teaching wasn’t always Mrs. Bron’s dream. Originally, she planned to pursue journalism and signed up for a journalism program in college. However, as a journalist whose job is to observe and report on situations and events, she found it hard not being able to express an opinion or impact the stories she covered. Unsure of what path to take instead, she turned to her college English professors: “I said, ‘I don’t know what to do here. Where should I go?’ And they said, ‘Well, think about the people you admire the most, and who have impacted you the most.’ For me, the people who had impacted me the most were people like those professors.” Soon after, she started her major in education. That decision opened up endless possibilities for her as a teacher, allowing her to express her passions in teaching, as she now teaches journalism, communications, and theater alongside English.
Looking back on her college years, Mrs. Bron describes that time in her life as “very busy,” constantly thinking about all the things she managed to do in a single day and wondering, “How did I do that?” While she acknowledges that she couldn’t do it all today in the same way, she notices how much it has shaped her. Things she enjoyed doing back then, such as gardening, traveling, and crafting, are all things she finds herself
pursuing today, grateful for the opportunities she gave herself to be able to follow the things she loves.
As she thinks about her hopes for the future, Mrs. Bron is focused on moving forward with intention. In her twenties, she feels as if she was checking all the boxes and doing everything right, but now, entering her thirties, her goal is to refine her purpose and keep growing in what she loves most. The same perspective shapes the advice she would give her younger self: speak up more, be a little louder, and always stand up for those who need it most. That advice stays with her today, defining not just how she lives, but how she supports her students every day.
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