At 17 years old, she was working as a Starbucks barista, decked out in the franchise’s iconic green color. 

At 19, she ran back and forth between Land Ocean’s kitchen and halls as a hostess.

At 20, she was a writing tutor for the Biola Rhetoric and Writing Center. 

Even after around 3,000 hours of working professionally, Elsa Wagner said she’s still living a first: having a full-time job as a teacher.

As a fresh addition to the Sunny Hills staff, new English teacher Wagner said she’s excited to take her first steps into fulfilling her dream of becoming an educator.

GROWING HER LOVE FOR ENGLISH

Wagner said her decision to become a teacher sprouted from her interest in the English language and love for reading, beginning at four years old.

“I think I read the whole Harry Potter series when I was in first grade,” Wagner said. “I just loved sharing stories and telling stories, and my parents grew up reading to me, which was very special to me.”

Wagner said that her love for reading came from her fascination with seeing different perspectives and experiencing things unlikely to be encountered in her life.

“I think it is so cool to see the world through more eyes than just my own,” she said. “I can read from the perspective of people who think about things very differently, and I think I am a better person because I get a glimpse at all these worldviews, via literature.”

While attending Western Sierra Collegiate Academy [WSCA] in Rocklin, California, for high school, Wagner said she participated in varsity track and field for all four years.

While refining her athletics, she simultaneously engaged in musical theater at Christian Youth Theater in Sacramento, a national theater arts training program, from fifth grade to her sophomore year.

Although these activities did not specifically contribute to her teaching career, Wagner said she formed valuable friendships through musical theater, and track and field nurtured her strong mindset.

“Musical theater is where I met my best friends, and those girls definitely shaped who I am today,” Wagner said. “And track helped me learn how to push myself mentally and physically; I am definitely a tougher person, and a harder worker because of my time in track.”

The new teacher then went on to attend Biola University in La Mirada. She said that her professors, such as Bethany Williamson, who teaches Critical Theory, British Literature and Ecocriticism, especially influenced her through intentional feedback and one-on-one discussions to share their perspectives on books they read in class.

“We just got time to think and be creative together, and getting to do that with people who I respected so much and that were so smart, it was really cool,” she said.

During her undergraduate years at Biola, Wagner said she engaged in small side jobs, specifically the writing tutor position at the Biola Rhetoric and Writing Center, to help her gain experience to pursue a career in teaching.

“I already knew I wanted to become a teacher in college,” the English teacher said. “The writing tutor, it was something that I felt would prepare me really well for teaching.”

Wagner said she received her teaching credentials at Biola by taking teaching courses during her undergraduate years and completing a student teaching semester at La Serna High School in Whittier, which she said she is thankful it was not very difficult.

“Biola’s credential process was easy to understand from the start,” Wagner said. “They do a really good job explaining exactly what the requirements are from the start, so I was able to plan my schedule accordingly and get it done in the timeline that I expected.”

Graduating as an English major with an emphasis in secondary education, which covers middle school to high school, Wagner said she received her teaching credentials through Biola.

“I was thinking what I could do with an English major, and I was thinking I’ve always wanted to write and have something to do with writing,” the teacher said. “I also [wanted] a social job and a job that has some structure to it, so I kind of put those things together.”

SEEKING A POSITION AT SUNNY HILLS

Wagner said that Eric Twisselmann, an English teacher from La Serna High School, whom she met through church in her childhood and while student teaching, told her that there would be a job opening at Sunny Hills, prompting her to consistently monitor Edjoin, a website that posts available positions.

“There’s not a lot of job openings for English teachers, so I was just keeping my eyes open, checking on the website,” Wagner said. 

Though Wagner recognized the lower possibility of an English teacher position opening, she said she was hopeful because she was distracted from her nervous thoughts during a busy period of her life.

“I had so many things going on in my life at the time, wedding planning being one of them, that I didn’t have a whole lot of time to be anxious and worried, funnily enough,” Wagner said. “I just hoped that something would come up and that when it did, I would be ready to apply and have a great interview.”

When she saw the open position in April, Wagner said she applied through the same website by submitting online paperwork, including her resume, letters of interest and recommendations from different professors.

Because three English teachers, Regina Broady, Tommy Li and Teresa McCarty, retired last year, principal Craig Weinreich said two English teachers were hired among a large number of applicants, with around 12 being interviewed.

Weinreich said Wagner was hired for being enthusiastic, friendly and someone that students could approach while providing challenges necessary for learning.

“It was very clear she was going to be someone that would connect well and relate well to our students, but then also challenge them in what they need,” Weinreich said.

When Wagner received the news that she was hired on May 23, she said she felt surprised and excited. She let her parents and then-fiance Jonah Wagner know right away, especially because it was Sunny Hills.

“I couldn’t believe I was hired at the school I was most excited to interview for,” Wagner said. “I’ve heard such good things about Sunny Hills; everyone has just talked about how amazing it is.”

Though it is a heavy workload, Wagner said she is not nervous to embark on her teaching career. Rather, she is motivated and inspired by her previous teachers.

“It’s really a lot every single day, figuring out how to make lessons that are engaging and interesting and relevant,” the new English teacher said. “But I feel like I have a lot of energy and passion to do that because I know how important that is after being in school and having my professors, not just give me information, but give me information that I think is life changing.”

Wagner teaches English 2 during periods 2, 4 and 6 and English 3 in periods 1 and 5, in which she hopes to apply her new teaching principles.

“I think my teaching philosophy is to always explain the relevance and the connection behind why we’re doing something,” Wagner said. “I’m trying to always do that because I know that not everyone enjoys it, and so I’m always trying to make it interesting and exciting.”

With just two months into the school year, the new teacher said her experience so far has been enjoyable because of her students.

“The kids are super amazing; they are super fun and funny, and I love getting to know their personalities in the first couple of weeks,” Wagner said.

Junior Aubrey Sanchez, a student in Wagner’s fifth period class, said that she understands more content with Wagner as her teacher because she interacts with the class more.

“I feel like I actually do learn in her class,” Sanchez said. “With other English teachers, they wouldn’t really explain or they would just give it to you and that was it, but I feel like with her, she helps us through it.”

In Wagner’s fourth period class, sophomore Samantha Vasquez also said she appreciates her explanations and attitude toward students.

“I like her teaching style because she’s direct and she provides information and examples as well as practice with each lecture,” Vasquez said. “I think that she’s a really good teacher and she cares about the students’ opinions and how they want to be taught.”

One of Wagner’s teaching approaches includes the bellwork, in which students answer a prompt relating to the class or common icebreaker questions in a notebook at the beginning of class, occasionally sharing responses. 

Sophomore Clara Kim describes the bellwork as a touch of fun, as she said she enjoys hearing from other students in her fourth period English class.

“It honestly makes the class a little bit more fun based on the types of questions, like would you rather and why, or what’s something you like to do when you get older,” Kim said. “It’s just interesting at the end when some students like to share their thoughts and answers.”

Because of such activities, sophomore Jackson Fiorini said that his English teacher creates a comfortable and engaging learning environment. 

“She makes us group up, she wants us to make new friends in class, and she makes learning fun,” said Fiorini, a student in her fourth period English 2 class. “I feel like I’m free to be able to say whatever, like I’m not scared to raise my hand.”

This ties in with Wagner’s goal for her first year as a part of the Lancer staff to be approachable and involved with school events.

“I hope that I can be someone that any student feels like they can come to [and be] very involved in campus life,” the English teacher said.

For her first year of teaching, Wagner said her main goal is to make her students into strong writers by equipping them with the skills to respond to a prompt effectively.

“I hope to teach my students how to [understand] the prompt, knowing what is being asked of them and then having the tools in their toolkit to know how to achieve that,” Wagner said. “I think sometimes students get stuck when they know how to do something, they’re just not sure what’s being asked of them.”

The new English teacher said that she believes her job suits her as she aims to keep a steady relationship between classroom learning and a relaxed, enjoyable environment.

“I think I have a good balance of making sure that we do things in the classroom while also keeping it not too serious,” Wagner said.

Excited to start her teaching career, Wagner said she hopes to stay at Sunny Hills.

“I cannot see myself wanting to go to any other school,” she said.