Elsa Schoberg, a passionate educator with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, is currently navigating the early and exciting stages of her teaching career. She specializes in the Spanish language and culture with a concentration in secondary education.

The journey from her small town in Westminster, Maryland, to the heart of Montgomery County has been surprising, but her love of teaching remains unchanged. Although her childhood dream was to be an actress, Schoberg discovered her new passion when she began studying languages.

Although she initially didn’t see herself as a teacher, she realized her skills in Spanish and teaching. She chose Spanish, as it was the only foreign language offered at her high school in Westminster. Despite it being her second language, which she still admits to “still learning,” she has found a love for the language, especially the culture and history, like arts and music.

Schoberg’s passion for Spanish stemmed from experiences in her childhood, growing up in a small town that exposed her to more opportunities. A pivotal one was the high school trip to Barcelona, Spain. This trip impacted and helped her understand and learn the language differently. Being in Spain allowed her to be immersed in fluent speakers, which impacted her Spanish learning journey.

After graduating from College Park, she was admitted into a Maryland-run program, where she was placed as an intern in a middle school and a high school for one semester each. The behind-the-scenes work surprised her the most. Schoberg said,” I think it’s, it’s all of the things they don’t teach in school. So there’s no real way to learn about how to interact with the students and connect with the students, manage the kind of behind-the-scenes of, like, the makeups, you know, for the retakes, and the emails.”

She started teaching this year as a Spanish 3 teacher. The change from her small town was different. She said,” Yeah, I mean, just shocked, too. Again, my small town was very different; the class size of 33, I’m like. Some big class.”

Her teaching style has carried over by being more interactive with students and helping them with their problems. She has also brought her love of art and history of paintings into the classroom by not only teaching vocabulary and Spanish skills, but she also implements the history of Spanish culture. Sophomore Jack Sisco said,” She’s very nice and always descriptive and helpful.”

Sophomore Molly Kimball, who has Schoberg as a teacher, said,” The change from Spanish Two to Spanish Three is a big jump in information, and she has made it easier for me to understand and learn the information.”