After over three years of teaching at Jackson-Reed, Caroline Szakats has found her rhythm as an English teacher. While her journey did not begin with teaching, she’s delighted that she has found her home.
Born in DC and raised in New Jersey, Szakats returned to attend Georgetown University. Following graduation, she chose a career in consulting, despite her advisor telling her to pursue teaching. She quickly realized consulting wasn’t for her though, and recalled her fond memories of college tutoring. Soon she headed to American University (AU) to obtain her masters in teaching. While at AU, she was a student teacher at Jackson-Reed and decided the school was the right fit for her. Since the fall of 2020, Szakats has taught English II, AP Lang, and English III.
This may come as a surprise, but teachers don’t spend all their time in the classroom. As of last summer she got married! She decided to keep her maiden name, Szakats. This summer, she and her new husband will head to Tanzania for their honeymoon, where they will embark on her dream safari adventure.
Like most others, Szakats has started her new year off strong with some resolutions to bring in 2024. These include running with her pitbull mix, Jellybean, and discovering new hobbies. On the weekends, she spends her time reading all different kinds of books. One of her favorites is Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, a book based on David Copperfield which follows a boy growing up in the heroin epidemic.
When asked what her favorite food was, Szakats pondered for a moment, then confidently answered with bagels. She, however, then specified that they must be from New York or New Jersey, not DC as the bagels here simply don’t compare. Furthermore, she emphasized her love of food by mentioning her hopes of traveling to Japan and experiencing the cuisine. Yet her best restaurant experience was not centered around the food, but rather the company. While sitting around the table with her friends, none other than Kevin Jonas walked by.
She wishes to leave you with her anecdote of the importance of hard work, emphasizing that it will always pay off.
