Laila Warrick

Ms. Harpur, Spanish 1 & 2 teacher, in her new classroom

Who’s that new face in room 321? If you’re a student taking Spanish 2 this year, you may recognize former student teacher Madeline Harpur. For those who are unfamiliar, especially first year Spanish students, take some time to read about your new teacher!

Although this is Harpur’s first year as an official teacher, she is no stranger to FLC.

“I was here in the spring, so from January to April last year with Ms. R over in Spanish 1,” Harpur explained. “It’s my first official year teaching here, but it’s my second year in the school, so I’m excited to come back.”

Harpur mentioned reuniting with her students and the anticipation that comes with it.

“I’m excited to get to see all of my students again…and get to kind of continue to build relationships with them, get to know them better.” 

For us to get to know Harpur better, we learned more about her background and reasons for becoming a teacher. Harpur is Cuban-Northern Irish and talked to us about growing up immersed in the Spanish language. 

“I can’t really imagine myself doing anything else,” Harpur explained when asked what inspired her to become a teacher. “I think part of it is that I grew up speaking Spanish. My mom’s from Cuba, and she was also my Spanish teacher growing up.” 

Surprisingly, Harpur was not the most fond of language classes when she was younger. 

“To be honest, I didn’t really love my Spanish classes growing up. But I was very passionate about language learning and wanted to share that with others.” 

What’s more surprising about Harpur is what she does outside of school.

“I love rock climbing!” She said, “I picked that up a bit ago…It’s been really fun. I’m excited for the fall so I can climb outside more.”

Harpur expands more on her personal life: what’s most important to her?

“Definitely my friendships…You need to have your connections, your circle of care, all of that,” she answered. 

Harpur’s parents are the only family of hers that live in Pennsylvania, so she heavily values familial connections. 

“It’s nice to have your unit,” Harpur ended with. “Just connections with people, I think, are my main thing.” 

If you want to learn more aboutHarpur, she’ll be in room 321 along with her Spanish classes!