by Abbey Zhu ’18, Feature Editor

When Ms. Graham first applied for a job at Newark Academy, she was also juggling writing her PhD dissertation at Columbia University, teaching undergraduates at Columbia, and taking care of two children, a two-year-old and an eight-month old.

“Don’t have kids,” Ms. Graham warned me. “Wait no, I didn’t mean that. Don’t have kids while trying to get your PhD.”

Ms. Graham had already spent four years in graduate school. She’d taken all the exams she needed to take, taught all the classes she needed to teach, and just had to finish researching and writing her dissertation. But while pursuing her dissertation, Ms. Graham realized something that would change the course of her life and bring her to Newark Academy: Her favorite part of graduate school was not doing research, but rather it was teaching undergraduates and writing lesson plans.

“I realized the bit I like is the teaching,” Ms. Graham explained, and so she decided to apply for a job at a private high school in New Jersey. Ms. Graham submitted her job application on a Friday night, and by the next Friday, she had been hired.

“All my husband’s friends were super jealous that I’d been hired by Newark Academy,” Ms. Graham said with a laugh. “I didn’t even know how fancy NA was until after I got hired, which is good, because otherwise I would have been a nervous wreck during my interview.”

Ms. Graham never ended up finishing her dissertation; instead, she became an eighth-grade English teacher at Newark Academy. From her first day at school, Ms. Graham was taken aback by the generosity, intelligence, and genuine kindness of the Newark Academy community. She is very thankful that she started working at Newark Academy in the middle school, because the middle school office provided her with twenty other mentors to help her adjust to life at a new school. Coming from teaching undergraduates at Columbia, Ms. Graham initially found it a struggle to learn how to plan a lesson for eighth graders.

“I forgot that they were kids, and I’d ask them questions about themes and ideas in the books that went completely over their heads,” Ms. Graham said.

Beyond adjusting to a new teaching style, Ms. Graham also had to adjust to NA’s quirkiness. The biggest culture shock for Ms. Graham was Spirit Week.

“I just remember being like, ‘What is going on?’” Ms. Graham said, recounting the first time she saw Newark Academy students decked out in NA-wear during Red and Black day. Ms. Graham grew up in the UK, and school spirit is considered “cheesy” there, so seeing the extent to which NA students take spirit week was jarring. But it’s now one of the things that Ms. Graham loves most about the Academy.

Ms. Graham also genuinely loves the upper school English department, where she now works, describing her colleagues as “wickedly funny,” “scandalous,” and “brilliant.” Being surrounded by so many smart people – with each person being smart in his or her own way – excited Ms. Graham and reminded her of the conversations she’d have with her friends in graduate school.

“NA made me realize how amazing it is to not be the smartest person in the room,” Ms. Graham said. “And that is what is so incredible about this school. Those conversations never stop.”

Unfortunately, this academic school year will be Ms. Graham’s last at Newark Academy; she’s currently applying for jobs at international schools in China, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. And even though Ms. Graham will be at least a thirteen-hour plane ride away from Newark Academy next year, her grace, humor, cleverness, and sincerity is something we’ll never forget.