Get ready to say “hola” to a new face at school! This year IHS and IMS welcome a new Spanish teacher, Sra. Reema Sanchez, who brings a fresh perspective and passion for language! Sanchez was hired after Sra. Carol Fowler retired in June. Fowler had taught Spanish in the district since 1973.
Sanchez earned a bachelor’s degree in both theater and Spanish from The Ohio State University. She continued her education at Baldwin Wallace University and earned her masters in education and teaching license to become a Spanish teacher.
“I really thought I was going to end up in something like Broadway, film, the movie industry,” Sanchez expressed, ”but then I realized that teaching is a way that I use theater and Spanish together.” She attended North Olmsted High School and was involved in many curriculars. Sra Sanchez loved Spanish class, obviously, and was passionate about theater. She was even a part of the Thespian community!
Before teaching at Independence, Sanchez taught at Lincoln West High School for four years, then at Nordonia High School for the past six years. “In Nordonia, it was just a way bigger community than here at IHS. I feel like it’s a little bit more tight knit, more like a family,” Sanchez explains.
Her former district had six Spanish teachers, but now she is the only one. “I’m learning about everybody here and I like it, because in a way it’s like we can build closer bonds quicker.”
Sanchez loves spending time with her husband and four young children. Her husband is a private baseball instructor and coach. They met online, then in person when he played for a minor league team, The Lake Erie Crushers, and have been married for eleven years. They have four young kids together, three girls, one boy, ages ten, eight, five, and one. “My kids are in school, and they do sports and different activities. I’m a busy lady, that’s for sure,” Sanchez added. Her family are not cat or dog people, but they do like fish! When asked what she loves to do in her free time, Sanchez was excited to express her interest in traveling.
Sanchez studied abroad in Spain in high school and loved everything about it. She has also been to many different countries in Europe. Sanchez loves spending most of her time with her family, and enjoys shopping. “Shopping is very therapeutic for me. It’s one of my favorite things to do.”
Sra. Sanchez wanted to share some inspiring and motivational advice to young high school students, explaining that the best thing you can do is find your passion. “I think that when you have passion, your life is full, when you identify things that you love to do that fill your life and make you feel enriched and happy and empowered. I think that that’s what puts you on that path of living your life to the fullest. You know, because we all are living. We’re breathing, but are we all really living life?”
The arrival of Sanchez, our new Spanish teacher, marks an exciting new chapter for IHS. With her passion for teaching, she will bring a new light to the classroom and help students explore the Spanish language and culture as well.
