Photo Provided by Tessa Ferone
You could travel the world, but I promise you will never find a more welcoming, accessible, and enthusiastic teacher than Mrs. Nalkranian, a geography teacher here at St. Joseph’s.
Mary-Ann Nalkranian grew up in Windsor, where she attended H. B. McManus Elementary School. Moving on to high school, Mrs. Nalkranian studied right here at St. Joe’s. At the time, she enjoyed reading, especially Stephen King’s horror novels, and she dreamed of going away to school in the hope of becoming a marine biologist. She later realized that this was an unrealistic scenario due to her location and the courses offered to her. As a graduate of the second-ever graduating class from St. Joseph’s Catholic High School, Mrs. Nalkranian decided to take geography courses at the University of Windsor since it gave her the opportunity to study nature and the environment like she would as a marine biologist. Next, she would go on to apply to Teacher’s College and prepare to become a geography teacher.
Flash forward, Mary-Ann is back where she started, but now on the other side. She’s a Laser again, teaching at St. Joe’s. “The cool thing about it,” she says, “is that I’ve gotten to teach with some of my former teachers from when I was a student.” Mrs. Nalkranian now says that the most rewarding part about choosing this career path is making connections that impact her students later in their life. She loves to catch up with her former students and learn what they’re doing now and share stories or memories from when they were in her class. She still enjoys reading in her spare time, specifically suspenseful or dramatic stories, and going for walks to take in the nature around her.
After being taught by and speaking with Mrs. Nalkranian first-hand, I’ve realized how passionate she is about the world and the environment. I believe that this is what makes her such a great geography teacher. We aren’t at St. Joseph’s for a long time, but I hope that during at least one of your four years, you get the chance to speak with or learn from Mrs. Nalkranian!