BY MAKESHA MERCEDAT & AILIN TORO
Jennifer Doo is a new addition to Malden High School staff this year. She was born and raised in Rhode Island and graduated from UMASS Amherst. She’s lived in Malden for almost ten years. She says that she loves Malden and the community and she was really excited to teach at one of the schools. However, before Doo began teaching, she gave back to the different communities in a variety of ways for different organizations organizations.
Out of college, Doo began to travel abroad. She started out by serving in the Peace Corps for two years. She also traveled to different countries and even taught the English language for a year in China. She then worked at nonprofits in administrative positions for organizations that she said had “huge local missions.” Those organizations being Best Buddies (a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to helping people with autism and other developmental disabilities), Horizons from Homeless Children (dedicated serving to homeless children and families) and Youth for Understanding (is a non-profit organization that offers you the possibility to work or study a year, semester or summer in a foreign country.)
Even though Doo loved working for these organizations, she missed teaching because she wanted to interact with students and inspire them to learn new things. She wanted to try to have a real teaching position and started her career out at Lawrence High School, here in Massachusetts, where she stayed for four years.
When asked why Doo chose to be an ELL teacher, she said that she cares a lot about culture and not just the grammar and reading aspects of English. She wants her students to embrace diversity and through this class she is able to do that. Although there were some hesitancies because she was not sure if she was ready to officially be a teacher, Doo says it turned out to be “a really good decision.” So far, Doo says she enjoys teaching at Malden High. She is especially happy with the “love and support she sees in the hallways and in [her] classroom” from her students. She also loves the diversity Malden High has to offer.
In her free time, Doo likes to play tennis, read, and spend time with her friends and family. Doo speaks some Chinese, English, and very little Spanish but she is practicing and trying to learn more.
You can find Doo in room J362.
