Gloria Park, a new English and Instructional Support Services teacher at Townsend Harris High School, is joining the school community as she starts her tenth year in education.

Ms. Park described her transition to THHS as “smooth” and “welcoming.”

“The community at THHS has made the transition so much nicer. I am constantly in search of a place I can grow the most and settle in,” she said. Prior to starting at THHS, she worked at three other schools and was most recently at Maspeth High School.

She studied at Villanova University for her undergrad and LIU Brooklyn for her master’s.

Ms. Park decided to pursue a career in teaching after taking the advice of a college professor. “She suggested that I take a teaching program for a year or two to figure it out from there. I decided to continue with the New York City Teaching Fellows program, and I sort of got sucked into teaching and have been doing it ever since,” Ms. Park said.

English teacher Ryan Dunbar, who co-teaches with Ms Park and participated in her job interview process, commented on what she brings to the classroom.

“What I love about Ms. Park is that she is incredibly flexible. Knowing that she isn’t rigid in the way she thinks things should be done but rather super communicative and so easy to work with is great,” he said.

Mr. Dunbar has taught with and without a co-teacher but says, “all my classes this year are co-taught, and at this moment, I would say I prefer to work with my wonderful colleagues because it is so nice when you have a co-teacher there to bounce ideas off with and lean on.”

Students also praised Ms. Park for her contributions to class. “[Ms. Park] makes the class feel a lot more like having a conversation with a friend at a book club rather than sitting at a lecture memorizing stuff, and when she walks around and reads our work, she gives us a genuine reaction and real criticism that [helps develop] my thoughts better,” sophomore Ramisa Sharif said.

Apart from teaching, Ms. Park shared some of her other hobbies and passions.

She said, “I like to hike when it’s nice out. Whether it’s upstate or out on Long Island. I also really like jigsaw puzzles, but it requires a lot of brain power, so I haven’t done them in a while. That usually used to be my go-to. Recently I’m trying to get back to playing instruments. I know how to play the piano and clarinet, but I think I might need to practice the piano a little more.”