The beginning of school is a time for old friends to reunite and new students to spread their wings and make connections; it is also a time to happily welcome new teachers who once roamed the halls of high school themselves and have come back to spread their knowledge onto others. I had the opportunity to meet one of Padua’s fabulous new Spanish teachers, Mrs. Furlong. Like every student at Padua, she spent her summer relaxing, but also preparing to take on Padua with wisdom, understanding, and personality.

“Padua is a very warm environment, so friendly, and the faculty has been so supportive of me,” said Mrs. Furlong.  Coming to Padua, she was excited to teach girls. She describes the students as very supportive of each other, with an unbreakable bond and truly, just a warm community. “They have such a strong sense of sisterhood,” she says. Additionally, since Senora Furlong attended school just around the corner at Ursuline, she had already experienced the all-girls atmosphere, and was ecstatic to return to the same environment.

Mrs. Furlong also said besides the girls and faculty, her favorite thing about Padua was the schedule. She stated that it was wonderful to have a Flex period and a grown-up and collegiate rotating schedule. With that being said, when asked to describe the school with one word, Senora said “its just so hard to pick one,” as we shared a small laugh. She had trouble narrowing it down, but eventually that one word came to be “friendly.” However, Mrs. Furlong did not hesitate when asked what made her decide to pursue teaching, especially a language like Spanish. “I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but what really made me decide to teach a language, more specifically Spanish, was my teacher in high school. This was because…she was absolutely wonderful, and…I had the pleasure of going to Spain with her.” She stated that to just go to the country and experience the culture was just such a delight. In addition to that, she chose Padua because of her love for an all-girls, Catholic environment. “It’s a perfect fit for me.”

Outside of school, Mrs. Furlong loves to spend time with her family, especially her two kids. In addition to hiking and bike riding with her family, she enjoys baking and staying fit through daily exercises. She says the best time to bake is in the fall, but in general, it is just a hobby she adores. Lastly, when asked what are her expectations of her students, Mrs. Furlong had stated that “my goals for students is to continue to enjoy Spanish, develop a good foundation in Spanish to pursue it in college, and want to continue Spanish in the future.”