Straight Out of College

Certain things happen for a reason and in the case of Mrs. Zeiser it was growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey with her younger sister. Along with having interests in theatre and sports, coincidentally, her next-door neighbors were from Spain. Mrs. Zeiser would play with the neighbor’s daughter a lot, listening as they would speak Spanish to each other. This set off a spark for Mrs. Zeiser as something she would be fascinated to learn more about.

During Mrs. Zeiser’s high school years she enjoyed spending time with her friends while putting a lot of “pressure on myself academically to do well,” Zeiser said. Her favorite subjects consisted of Spanish and English. Mrs. Zeiser took part in activities such as swing/show choir, field hockey, and track. She even participated in the school shows, Grease and Once Upon A Mattress for her Freshman and Sophomore years. During high school, Mrs. Zeiser would always babysit and was even a “telemarketer for a funeral home.” She would ask clients if they wanted a spot in the mausoleum.

Mrs. Zeiser attended the University Of Delaware, majoring in Spanish education. About a week before her college graduation she received a phone call from Glen Ridge High School, asking if she could fill in and finish the school year teaching 8th grade Spanish. Mrs. Zeiser prepared for this job by studying abroad in Spain during college. Once she graduated she moved back to New Jersey to help finish the school year at GRHS, returning the following year and 15 years since. 

Mrs. Zeiser found an interest in teaching because she “always liked helping people, my parents were teachers, my grandfather was a principal, my aunt’s a teacher, so I think it’s kinda in my blood,” she said. Her transition into GRHS was filled with support and lots of great students, but she felt “it’s a big jump from being in school learning how to teach than actually having your classroom and 24 sets of eyes on you expecting to learn,” Mrs. Zeiser said. Having made lots of close teacher friends along with being able to teach great students, Mrs. Zeiser tries to create a fun learning environment for her students, because she believes it’s beneficial for the students and teachers as well. 

In Mrs. Zeiser’s free time you can find her running and exercising, she also likes to travel and read books. But you can also find her having a grand time at the happiest place on Earth.