Mr. Justin Aranavage joins the English department this year as the new English 9 teacher. He replaces Mr. Eric Magyari, who retired in 2024.
Aranavage attended Ohio University for his undergrad. He originally wanted to be a film director but switched to teaching. “I taught swim lessons and it made me realize I enjoyed that. It was more tangible,” he said. Before coming to Independence he worked as a substitute teacher in Boston, MA.
Aranavage took an AP Language class at Kirtland High School that inspired him to teach English. He also enjoyed playing tennis and soccer in high school. These are still two of his favorite pastimes, along with walking his dog Molly.
Aranavage’s father does accounting work with John Carroll University and his mom teaches Spanish at Chagrin Falls Middle School. His younger sister attends the University of Cincinnati for biomedical engineering.
His biggest pet peeve is when people talk over each other until he can’t understand what they’re saying.
Aranavage’s biggest piece of advice to students is to participate in events and clubs. “At small schools I feel like it’s really important to get involved and buy in.”
Aranavage teaches part-time and is here for the first half of the school day.
