Ms. Fitzgerald, as a teacher in the English Department, is quite interesting and unique through her hobbies, interests, travels, and experiences as well as relatable through her discovery of the New Orleans community. A pedagogical adventurer bitten by the travel bug, Ms. Fitzgerald has visited, lived, and taught in multiple countries. From England to Egypt, to India, to Malaysia, and now here, Ms. Fitzgerald has taught and worked with an astonishingly diverse set of individuals. After partaking in a foreign exchange program in England for a year in order to complete her bachelor’s degree at the University of California, San Diego, she says she was, “bitten by the travel bug,” in desire for more of what the UK had to offer. She inevitably moved to England and stayed there for seventeen years, where she obtained a master’s in women’s literature from the University of East Anglia as well as a teaching credential. Ms. Fitzgerald continued to move to other places and teach other kinds of people in international and westernized schools, eventually obtaining a second master’s degree in educational leadership just last year.
One might wonder, “What is an English teacher’s favorite literature or book?”. Ms. Fitzgerald’s favorite book is The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, a story that follows Offred–a young woman in a dystopian United States turned theocratic and totalitarian. Ms. Fitzgerald’s favorite artists for music are the Indigo Girls and their style of country rock as well as their topics about racism, feminism, and diversity. Her favorite hobbies include, before New Orleans mostly, hiking, and after moving to New Orleans, bike-riding. She found the New Orleans streets to be enjoyable to ride on since “all the houses are different,” and “everyone’s got their own little character.” The architecture in New Orleans has drawn interest in her, just as many others, due to its diverse and complex cultural history and founding. She has also developed a hobby for yoga, especially Bikram yoga, a style of yoga especially popular here in New Orleans.
Looking forward to Newman, Ms. Fitzgerald is eager to finish her first year here. After experiencing the community for just a couple of months, she feels the kindness and inclusivity from all the students and teachers alike. She began teaching out of her fascination for teenagers and the will to spread the knowledge of literature and English to the youth of the world. To quote her own words, she says, “[T]hey’re all just very nice people, and there’s a lot of kindness here. And personally, I think that’s an environment where I think young people grow and develop and learn best.”