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Faculty Focus: February 2025
Math teacher Ms. Carolyn Yusa also coaches cheerleading and softball at Fenwick.
What is your educational background?
I graduated from Marist High School and I attended Loras College where I received my degree in Mathematics and Secondary Education.
What did you do prior to working at Fenwick?
I was a gymnastics coach and substitute teacher while working towards my teaching degree.
What are you currently reading for enjoyment?
While I am not reading anything at the moment, I do recommend “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel van der Kolk. I read it a few years ago and it is still one of my favorite books. It is all about self care and is quite enlightening.
What interests do you pursue outside of school?
I am a coach for an 18u softball team here in Oak Park called the Windmills. I also enjoy sleeping and hanging out with my dogs.
I am a coach for an 18u softball team here in Oak Park called the Windmills. I also enjoy sleeping and hanging out with my dogs.
To what teams and/or clubs did you belong as a student?
I was a softball player and cheerleader throughout my academic career and had many jobs throughout high school and college.
I was a softball player and cheerleader throughout my academic career and had many jobs throughout high school and college.
Which clubs/sports/activities do you run at Fenwick?
I am a softball and cheerleading coach.
I am a softball and cheerleading coach.
What quality/characteristic marks a Fenwick student?
A quality I believe Fenwick students have is openness to growth. Students come to Fenwick scared, timid and sometimes overwhelmed as freshmen. However, they accept change and grow here as students and as people, allowing them to leave confident and self-assured young adults.
When did you decide to work in education, and why did you choose this field?
I originally attended college with the intention of pursuing sports psychology. After a few classes I decided that that career path was not for me. I reflected back on what classes I enjoyed most in high school, which happened to be math. With my background in coaching, I decided education was a good fit for me. After one math class and one education class the rest is history.
What personal strengths do you find especially helpful in your work?
My sense of humor makes me more relatable and trustworthy to students, and my directness helps students realize their full potential. My students have all of the tools at their disposal to succeed in my class, and all they need to do is take advantage of the opportunity.
What is the greatest success you have had in your role?
I believe my greatest success in my role as a math teacher is teaching students how to be confident in their math skills. A lot of students struggle with math and lack confidence. Throughout the course of the school year I implement goal-setting to help students build confidence in their math skills from where they are when they first enter my class. With a mixture of goal-setting and reassurance students are able to grow their confidence in math.
What challenges do students face today?
The adjustment and advancement in their academics after COVID-19 left them online and out of the classroom. The change in re-learning how to learn and process information outside of a computer screen is not easy. It will take a few years for them to adjust to learning hands-on in a classroom and gaining those processing skills they missed out on in their earlier years of education. With time and patience, this change will become a distant memory.
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