“My family thought I was crazy,” said Mrs. Oberwise.

After about two weeks of retirement, Mrs. Oberwise called Marist about an open position for a math teacher. Just like that, she was back teaching.

She previously taught middle schoolers at Orland Park until she retired last May. She currently teaches all freshman algebra, four academic classes and one advanced class.

She says that each grade level changes in maturity. “Even though they seem like babies to you, they are so much older than the sixth graders I taught in middle school,” she said.

Oberwise says she was compelled back to teaching because of the kids and her love for math.

“I teach math so I’m one of those math geeks. I love it, I [understand] it. The kids here are just so fun and so wonderful to be with,” she said.

It is also the students who keep her motivated.

“Sometimes I wake up to my alarm and think, ‘why am I doing this’, but as soon as I get here, the energy is just so high,” she said.

Oberwise claims her favorite part of teaching is not only the kids, but when they understand the material, and help each other out. She loves to see students collaborate and work together to better understand math.

“The other day the kids were listening to music, and I was going to tell them to knock it off until I hear one of them [helping another student], and I realized, they’re talking math, they understand it!” she said.

A good day of teaching to Oberwise is when the kids understand what they are doing and she feels she has done her job.

“When the kids get it, when they understand what I’m trying to teach them, when they are kind to each other and learning together,” she said.

When not teaching math, her hobbies include her kids and their sports and interests. She loves watching them excel.

“My hobbies at home, I have two children, one is a junior here, and one is a senior at Shepard, so my hobbies are theirs: Driving them to practices and keeping track of them,” she said.

Oberwise also went to Shepard, which makes this her first time being a Redhawk. She then attended Northern Illinois University for her Bachelors degree, and Saint Xavier for her Masters.

Going forward, Oberwise is excited to continue her teaching career as a Redhawk.

“The kids here are just so wonderful to be with and the energy makes it so worth it,” she said.