This year, the English department at Wilde Lake High School has many new faces. One of these wonderful new faces, Ms. Jenna Feaga, is teaching English 10, English 10 Honors, and Speech Communications. Ms. Feaga, pronounced “fig-ee”, is in her second year of teaching. After attending Liberty University, she taught her first year at Dunloggin Middle School. But, Ms. Feaga decided that “the sixth grade life was not for [her],” so she brought her talents to the Lake. 

Ms. Feaga never planned on being a teacher. She originally wanted to go into graphic design and studio art. However, after she realized her love for the school environment and diving deep into literature, she knew teaching was what she was meant to do. “My 12 AP class was three people, all girls [and] we got to go like super deep into stuff,“ says Ms. Feaga. This experience helped her foster her love for learning even more. Similarly to her high school experience, Ms. Feaga likes to have “conversations with students, especially like in smaller groups” because it helps students develop their thoughts about the reading while also seeing the perspectives of others. 

But diving deep into literature is not all Ms. Feaga likes about English. She believes English is  “a good way for our students to develop critical thinking skills as well as analysis skills” that they can apply in all different areas. She gives the example that if someone wanted to be a lawyer, these skills would greatly help them achieve their goal. English is a great way for students to develop these skills while reading stories and engaging with their classmates. 

Outside of the classroom, Ms. Feaga jokes that she is “like an 86 year old woman in a young adult’s body.” She enjoys reading, knitting, and cooking. Ms. Feaga likes to do activities that are peaceful and relaxing yet productive and skill building. She also values quality time with friends and family. Both in and out of the classroom, Ms. Feaga is excited to “settle back into [the] . . . groove of things” and see what the year has in store. 

Ultimately, Ms. Feaga wants her students to know, “that at the end of the day, I’m very passionate about seeing them thrive in every aspect of their life. So I’m here as your teacher, but I don’t just care about your grades. I would like to communicate that I care about you as the whole individual.”