Like water, life ebbs and flows. This is true for all of us. Us just happens to include all the new teachers that came to MVS for this school year. For this month’s edition, I had the luxury of posing questions to one of our new English teachers, Mrs. Ugwummadu. To start, I asked icebreaker-type questions. Mrs. Ugwummadu’s hometown is Tampa, Florida, and she is the oldest of two siblings. A decent amount of her family lives around the Dayton area, including her mother, grandmother, and in-laws. However, Mrs. Ugwummadu has spent the majority of her life in Florida, going to Florida State University for her undergraduate degree and then to the University of Central Florida for her master’s degree. When I asked about her experience there, she discussed the school spirit and the general closeness of the communities. FSU is a very big football school, so the students can bond over it. In her words, “…the camaraderie and school spirit were incredible. College felt so alive, and really brought out qualities in me I didn’t know I had.”
When prompted on what led her to teaching, she told me about how she had worked with kids since high school. And because she happened to have an English degree, she decided to put it to good use. Before teaching here at MVS, Mrs. Ugwummadu taught at four different schools in Tampa. Her favorites were Berkeley Prep and American Youth Academy. Maybe if we’re nice to her, we can land on that list. For example, I bet no one at any other school interviewed her for a newspaper. Twice. That’s an MVS exclusive.
Mrs. Ugwummadu’s favorite part of English is the ability to create meaning. She elaborates, saying, “Literature truly offers us a window into stories that are not our own. We grow so much as humans when we read and allow books to shape and layer our perspectives on the world.” I enjoy her perspective on English. The whole purpose of language is to create meaning, so being able to understand language and take things away that you didn’t know before is a magical luxury. On that topic, when I asked Mrs. Ugwummadu about her hobbies, she said reading was one of her favorite things to do. Uniquely, she loves to go antiquing and play board games with her husband. Specifically, she said that antiquing in Lebanon was one of her favorite things she’s done in Dayton. She said she also enjoyed The Silos just outside of downtown Dayton and Young’s Dairy outside of Yellow Springs.
For my final question, I decided to ask something more silly. If you were trapped on a deserted island and could only bring one thing, what would it be? Of course, you would have all the essentials (food, water, shelter, etc.). And the answer she gave me? Her husband. That made me smile. I didn’t expect that answer, but when I thought about it, I think that’s the best way to be trapped on an island. Not literally. I don’t have a husband. But I hope you catch my drift. With that, I had all my questions answered. And so, that’s Ram Report’s spotlight on one of our new teachers, Mrs. Ugwummadu. I thank her for being willing to put herself out there and share herself with the school. Be sure to anxiously wait for our next edition so you can meet more of our excellent teachers here at MVS!
Amazing teacher!