“I really love trying spicy foods. Whenever I see something spicy I am more inclined to try it,” Grabowski said.
Job-wise, this is Grabowski’s first year teaching. She started at Marist High School in August.
“I hope to become a better teacher overall this year. I definitely don’t have the same experience as the veteran teachers, so I am just trying to learn different strategies to become a better teacher,” Grabowski said.
Although she doesn’t have her own classroom yet, and is still trying to navigate the new environment, she is very pleased with how the students and teachers are treating her.
“Everyone is extremely friendly here,” Grabowski said. “It’s a very welcoming environment. No one is not willing to lend a helping hand. People say hi to me in the hallways and I don’t even know them.”
Her first job doesn’t take her too far from home.
“I grew up on the south side of Chicago, not very far from Marist. My brother actually attended school here,” she said.
Grabowski attended Queen of Peace High School until it closed in 2017. Then she transferred to St. Laurence and finished high school there. Then she went on to get a Bachelor’s in mathematics and secondary education at St. Xavier University.
“I enjoyed school very much when I was younger. It was something I was very passionate about,” Grabowski said.
She said, “I had an AP calculus teacher in high school that inspired me to pursue a career in math instead of biology.” In high school, Grabowski took many AP classes, but her favorites were math and biology.
Her teacher wasn’t the only one who influenced her.
“My mom is my best friend, she’s always pushed me to be the best I can possibly be, not only as a person but as a teacher,” Grabowski said.
She has two siblings. A brother (Gage) and a sister (Genae). Everyone in her family has names that start with the letter G.
“My brother and I are very close, but me and my sister have a bit of a rocky relationship,” she said.
She also has two dogs, Sky and Shadow, whom she very much considers a part of her family. They have been a part of Grabowski’s family for more than 5 years.
“My dogs are very obnoxious. They howl, cry, are always wanting attention, and they rip up all their toys,” she said.
When Grabowski isn’t at school, she tries to take up new hobbies. Some of those hobbies include hanging out with her friends, reading, coloring, walking, and biking.
Looking ahead to the future, Grabowski hopes to keep learning new strategies to become a better teacher.
“I love the saying that teachers are lifelong learners, because I truly feel I am a lifelong learner,” Grabowski said.
She not only wants to succeed as a teacher, but hopes her students do as well as they possibly can too.
“My goal is to help and watch my students succeed,” she said.
Graboswki is explaining to her class the different types of angles.
