The lead guitarist shreds while she sings background vocals. Christine Maass is 16 years old, practicing in her garage. Her band, modeled after the famous English rock band Led Zeppelin, was formed by a diverse group of talented musicians, some even trained professionally at European music conservatories. At the moment, Maass knows that she enjoys practicing with the band, using her voice to express her teenage emotions. What she doesn’t know is that, later in her life, she’ll become an environmental activist, an avid traveler and a teacher here.
After she earned her master’s degree in translation and interpretation, Maass moved from France to Cleveland, Ohio. Work, however, was difficult to find. Luckily, she received a call from a staff member at a local high school offering her a position as a teacher. It was surprising to Maass, especially because she wasn’t certified to teach. She eagerly accepted the position and taught in Cleveland for several years. She eventually ended up at this school. Maass said, “It was unbelievable because I was not certified.”
Maass, Señora or Madame, depending on which class a student has her for, is the school’s Spanish and French teacher. Last year, she only taught French and missed teaching Spanish. She said, “Thank God I teach both.”
Maass appreciates the students at the school, noting attractive qualities like their sense of humor, spontaneity, creativity and imagination. She believes students in her classes are responsive to feedback and has seen impressive grade improvements through hard work, citing students who started the school year with Ds and ended it with As. She said, “They come to see me, work with me, hang on tight, and they inch their way up.”
Maass is aware of how she teaches her students. She recognizes that she can come off as overly strict and believes it may be due, in part, to her European background. However, Maass isn’t oblivious to her reputation; she sees where she can improve and has decided to work on her image, saying, “For me, here, I’m bending over backward to be more lenient.”
Maass serves as the teacher sponsor for the French Honors Society. She enjoys participating in fun events scheduled by club leadership and getting to know her members. In the past, FHS has organized at movie theaters, restaurants, art galleries and even ballets. Maass said, “We’ve done cooking projects in the kitchen at school.”
Maass has passions outside of school, too; she loves hiking. Maass has hiked impressive distances, such as in her Canada hike. The route spanned from Montreal up to Quebec and back down to Sante-Anne de Beaupre. Maass and her hiking partners stayed in hotels but carried their supplies. She’s traversed mountains like Ireland’s Croagh Patrick, which entailed a three-hour hike to the summit. Biking and swimming also make up some of Maass’s interests. “I spend all my summers in Spain by the beach,” she said. “My family’s home is in Valencia.”
In addition to her outdoor activities, Maass is passionate about the environment. She has become a new customer of a store called FullFillery, located in Takoma Park, where instead of shopping for new, plastic-filled items, you collect refilled, reused or recycled items. This change has allowed her to reduce her plastic waste considerably. At FullFillery, she collects various items: cleaning products, toothpaste, shampoo, floss, soap, and more all taken home by Maass at the end of her shopping sprees. She also buys her shoes from a store called Allbirds. They are made from pure, clean materials such as eucalyptus fiber, castor bean oil, boiled wool and cane sugar. This weekend, she plans to bring a friend to FullFillery with her. She said, “If you have a friend showing you how to get started, it’s much easier.”
Students of Maass have their own opinions on her. Junior Maddie Zincke, who had Maass as a teacher for Spanish 3 and Advisory during her freshman year, said, “My favorite thing about her is how she always has something to share like a story or interesting fact.”
Senior Divya Subramian has had Maass as a teacher since her junior year and has been a member of FHS since she was a sophomore. She said, “Maass has been instrumental in leading our French Honors Society since the beginning of her time at Wootton and has been more involved than any other club sponsor I’ve had.”
