Mrs. Dunneback is no stranger to Marist or its environment. Although she did not go to a Marist school, the school that she attended had the Marist Brothers within it.

Teaching is not what she thought she would be doing in the future. She actually planned on becoming a journalist.

Her first interview was with HBO, but it was not what she expected. Instead of taking the opportunity at HBO she decided to begin her school journey by becoming a substitute teacher. This sparked her love for teaching.

Her journey at Marist High School began after one of her friends let her know that there was an opening for a teaching position. What she thought would last a year lasted much longer. Her love for Marist grew as the years went on.

Now that Ms. Dunneback is a principal, she wants to focus on specific aspects that she feels can improve the school’s community.

One of those aspects is the hunger to learn. Many at Marist focus on the number of points that an assignment is worth, but she wants to transition that, so students want to come to school and just learn.

Throughout the school year, and past years, there has been a lack of respect whether it was regarding the building or the people.

Mrs. Dunneback has put an emphasis on these missing aspects of acceptance and respect with hopes that it could return. She noticed that we are all different so, it’s not about tolerating each other as she mentioned, “Not tolerance but acceptance. Like really accept each other for who we are.” By accepting and respecting others we can help strengthen our school community and build a sense of unity between students and teacher.

Additionally, she wants to expose students to careers and what they entail as she mentioned, “I feel like there’s an explosion of avenues that you can take for your age range.” More exposure to careers may be in the future for Marist students.

The future of Marist and its students is bright as there may be big changes in the years to come.