On January 11^th, 2016 Marlboro High School announced its 2016 teacher of the year- Mrs. Rivera. Mrs. Rivera is a senior English teacher, as well as a Creative Writing teacher. Mrs. Rivera’s passion for both her students and for English has inspired students to find the joy and universality of literature for the past 16 years.

Before Mrs. Rivera began teaching, she was a newspaper reporter. She didn’t realize her love for teaching until she started tutoring high school students. It was then she decided that her true passion was to be a teacher, specifically, an English teacher. Mrs. Rivera first began working in Marlboro High School in 1999 as a long term sub for a retiring English Teacher. In 2000, Mrs. Rivera had her first class of students at Marlboro High School as a full time teacher.

Currently, Mrs. Rivera teaches Honors English for Seniors, AP Literature, and Creative Writing. One of Mrs. Rivera’s favorite reasons to teach English is “the infinite possibilities it supplies to discuss and learn new things”. Moreover, the universal messages that literature offers is a key quality Mrs. Rivera focuses on in her classes, as she tries “to apply current events and timely topics to all literature” that her students read in her class because she believes it is “important to learn the fundamental structure of language, but it is equally as important to explore the reasons as to why the literature has been created”.

As a senior English teacher, Mrs. Rivera recognizes the importance of teaching young adults important messages they can take from literature before they leave for college. Mrs. Rivera believes “it is important to lay the ground work for each student to formulate new ideas and learn from past ideas.  One day these young adults will be leading our country”. Writing specifically, Mrs. Rivera admits, “is a very personal process”, and she hopes her “students leave her class comfortable writing and expressing themselves” each day.

As for being named Marlboro High School’s 2016 teacher of the year, Mrs. Rivera states that she is “extremely flattered to have been nominated and chosen,” and also, is “proud to sit next to some of (her) former colleagues who were chosen too”. Humbly, Mrs. Rivera admits that her title is “an honor she takes seriously,” and although she does not like the spotlight, she loves what she does, and hopes to continue teaching for years to come. Ultimately, Mrs. Rivera thanks her students, who have “taught her so much over the years,” her high school art teacher Mrs. Soderlund, who helped hone Mrs. Rivera’s unforgettable sarcasm, and her family, who “consistently supports (her) and makes it possible to get to work each day”.

Overall, Mrs. Rivera is an English teacher who goes beyond the pages of a book. Each day Mrs. Rivera sheds a new light on classic literature that ultimately helps her students appreciate the timelessness in novels that may seem outdated, but in reality, are relevant to not only global issues, but issues in one’s own life. The energy, and passion for English Mrs. Rivera exemplifies each day for her students are the reasons seniors leave Marlboro High School with a newfound passion for literature, and an appreciation for writing and its potential. Congratulations to Mrs. Rivera on her well deserved title of Marlboro High School’s 2016 Teacher of the Year.