By JESSY SIEGMANN
From foreign languages to photography, Jericho’s newest world language teacher, Ms. Samantha Suriani, can do it all.
Ms. Suriani first discovered her love of Italian culture when she was 17 during her high school class trip to Italy. She said, “I always knew I loved teaching, I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, but after that trip to Italy I realized that is what I wanted to do.”
Ms. Suriani is quadrilingual but Italian is her favorite. She attended Stony Brook University where she majored in Italian Studies in Teacher Preparation and additionally studied French and Spanish.
Ms. Suriani feels welcomed within the Jericho community and like it is a second family to her. She said, “When I was coming to Jericho I only heard positive things, and now being here I see that, that is true.”
She added, “I can really see how amazing the students are. I didn’t face anything negative and I have had a really good experience.”
Ms. Suriani is very enthusiastic about coming into the district this year and is taking an optimistic approach. She believes everyone should treat each other equally to create a comfortable learning environment. Freshman Matthew I. said, “She respects all of her students. If we respect her, she is very fair.”
Student’s enjoy Ms. Suriani’s style of teaching. Freshman Ava K. said, “She doesn’t make people feel bad when they get a question wrong. She has a learning environment everyone feels comfortable in.”
Ms. Suriani stood out from other teachers applying to work at Jericho this school year. Curriculum Associate Lionel Chan said, “She gave an impressive demonstration lesson, and she is encouraging and helps students realize learning a new language doesn’t happen overnight.”
Outside of school, she enjoys photography, especially taking pictures of nature.
Ms. Suriani said, “When I was in Italy I took a lot of photos of the landscapes.”
Photo courtesy of Ms. Suriani
Ms. Suriani is excited to connect with students this school year while teaching a language she loves. She is excited for her future at Jericho High School and is ecstatic to be here.