The path to finding one’s calling in life can be a challenging and intricate process. Like most of us, Aliza Sherman, a history teacher at Townsend Harris High School, did not have her life fully mapped out during her high school years. It wasn’t until college when she first discovered her love for history and teaching.
Initially considering a career as a music therapist, Ms. Sherman soon realized that playing the piano all day wasn’t fulfilling. She did not have a strong passion for piano nor did she feel as if she was good enough at it. As she explored different career options in college, she kept coming to similar conclusions.
Her father, she said, offered her a great deal of career advice and guided her to many options. “He suggested physical therapy or occupational therapy, but you need a lot of science and I [wasn’t] strong in that,” she said. After her father’s suggestion of speech therapy, she tried taking linguistics but did not enjoy studying that either. Finally, her father suggested she become a nutritionist, but again she came to the same conclusion: science wasn’t for her. More than that, there was one other major problem with becoming a nutritionist. “I [didn’t] even know if I could follow my own advice because I have a sweet tooth,” she said.
While all of this was going on, she was consistently taking courses in history and loving them. Eventually, after rejecting so many possible paths, she said becoming a history teacher “sort of dawned on me like ‘eureka.’” History teaching was the way to go.
Through a part-time teaching job, she had the opportunity to teach older students and delve deeper into the subject, which ultimately solidified her passion to become a history teacher.
She first started teaching full time at John Adams High School and stayed there for eight years. During her time there, she found herself at a crossroads in her career when she obtained a license to become a principal. Ultimately, she decided against leaving teaching permanently as she genuinely loved teaching.
Eventually, she made her way to a teaching position at THHS, and the rest is history. Her time at THHS solidified her commitment to continue her role as a teacher.
Ms. Sherman’s dedication has not gone unnoticed by her students.
Sophomore Puja Biswas, a student in Ms. Sherman’s AP World History class, said, “I really enjoy how she critiques our DBQs.” She continued, “I’ve seen myself improving on them, and she helped me understand what I need to do better.”
Another student of Ms. Sherman, sophomore Aastha Patel, shared similar sentiments and said, “I like how she goes over the rubric for the DBQ and LEQ for AP World. She also made us practice 3 DBQs in class, which helped prepare me for the AP exam.”
Reflecting on not finding her true passion until well into college, Ms. Sherman encourages students to “[pursue] something you are passionate about. Never settle for a career you think will be solely financially rewarding. It should be personally rewarding.”
