BY VICTORIA MEJICANOS

Many times students can become so engulfed in school, it can be hard to imagine a teacher going about their day to day life. Mrs. Sanford has quite an interesting schedule that some may be surprised to hear about. Starting her day  at 5:05 am every day to get herself and her daughter ready for school, she jokes “ gives herself the extra five minutes of sleep”. Then she continues to go about her work day, teaching English 1, English 1 Honors, and AP Seminar. Some days she takes her daughter to tae-kwon-do, and while she waits, she listens to a podcast. Her favorite kinds are true crime. Afterwards, she has dinner and tries her best to spend time with her husband. Most days they watch a favorite TV show together. Like most people, Sanford notes that she watches  Netflix Originals and her current favorite is Camino, which is “a continuation of Breaking Bad that focuses on one charecter ” she states her days are pretty routine and not that exciting. However, she does enjoy it very much as family time and self care are very important to Sanford.

Surprising to some, the journey into teaching wasn’t that simple. Initially, Sanford wanted to go into the field of social work and become a social worker. However, “ didn’t feel it was what wanted to do.” She thought back to high school and it clicked for her. English was the subject she enjoyed the most. She enjoyed “the thought of being able to teach the literature with the same passion that some of my professors had.” She goes on to say that she believes these feelings helped steer her in the right direction. She feels very fortunate to have started her career at West Covina and has continued to do so passionately for fifteen years. Her goal is to continue to be passionate and wishes that her students knew that all she wants for them is to be successful. She wants them to feel “comfortable and supported.” She knows school can be hard at times and just wants the atmosphere to match how she feels about teaching. Not only does she want her students to feel comfortable, but what she wishes the most for them is success. Her goal is not just to help them in English, but teach them the skills they need to succeed in other  classes. Additionally, she wants students to remember, “ a human being at the end of the day.”

Like everybody else, Sanford has her own  hobbies and interests. She loves music but feels that not many students can relate to her tastes, as the music she listens to is “very folk-like” and “has a lot of banjo and acoustics”. Her goal is to learn how to play the guitar like some of her favorite artists, even though “ hasn’t been the best about practicing” Perhaps the most important pastime for Sanford that many teens can relate to is self care. She enjoys going to the spa or getting her nails done and shopping. Whether it’s through her passionate thoughts about teaching, her care for her family, or knowing when to care for herself, students are sure to be able to relate to and learn from Sanford.