By contributing writer Enes Damkaci (’27)
Editor’s note: This article was written last year but was never published due to scheduling errors. Some of the information in the article is no longer accurate.
As this year’s group of new teachers settle in, teachers working on their second year at J-DHS are gaining more and more experience with their classes. Anna Cabral, a new teacher from last year, recounts how she finds herself teaching at J-D.
Starting at the beginning, Cabral attended college locally at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. At Cornell, she first earned a 4-year bachelor’s degree in mathematics and decided to stay another year to obtain a master’s in teaching so she could make a fast transition into her true passion, educating students.
Cabral has moved around a lot since graduating from Cornell. She has been following her husband as he obtains his PhD. Her first job fresh from college was a teaching position in downstate New York, although she soon moved to Massachusetts and found a position there for 5 years. She subsequently moved to Chicago before finally returning to New York due to her husband’s employment at SUNY ESF.
Once in Central New York, Cabral found herself interested in a position at J-DHS. Currently, she is teaching Algebra 2 Honors, Applied Geometry, and AP Computer Science Principles. Since her arrival to the school and the area, she has noticed differences from her previous jobs. First, she thought that she would hate the cold and gloomy weather here, although she has found comfort in the cold. She was also worried that it would be too far away from her mother.
In terms of J-D, Cabral explained that she enjoyed how different the school was from her past positions. At her old job, Cabral held many weekend and night time responsibilities and has found the morning teaching environment at J-D to be much more enjoyable. Cabral has also been very pleased with her transition into teaching a computer science course. She has found coding to be extremely interesting and challenging since she was first introduced into it. She mentions that she couldn’t believe it took her this long to discover such an interesting topic. This experience will definitely stay with her for years to come.
Even with her busy schedule Cabral still finds time to enjoy several hobbies. She’s a very athletic and outdoorsy person as she enjoys running, kayaking, paddleboarding, and spending time on the beach. She’s been able to put these hobbies into practice at many places although she especially enjoys Green Lakes as she can jump into the cold water when she’s done running.
Cabral has fostered the love of many of her students through her passion for teaching and computer science. Students can find her in room R21 during activity period. Welcome to J-D Ms. Cabral!
