Two months into her first year at West Chicago Community High School, Danielle Nolin has taken on the dual roles of math teacher and athletic trainer, bringing her expertise to both the classroom and the field.

Becoming a math teacher was not part of the original plan for Nolin. Before deciding to become a math teacher, she had been working in a school system for the past seven years. Nolin had always envisioned herself being an athletic trainer. She now works part-time in another school district in this capacity.

However, when deciding what to do to fill up her extra time in the day, Nolin decided to get her teaching degree in math.

“I was really good at math in high school, and when I was looking at what kind of subject area I wanted to go into, I felt like that’s where I might be the strongest,” Nolin said.

As Nolin describes her accounts with her teaching experiences so far, she makes sure  to mention how appreciative she is of her students, grades 9-12. For many new teachers across the country, their first year of teaching can be pretty rough as sometimes students do not respect the younger teachers, and feel as if they are lacking familiarity with their teachers and themselves, leaving many first year teachers disconnected from their class or vice versa. As Nolin has worked at a school system before, she has not had too much of a problem thus far.

“All the students so far have been really good, really respectful, which makes my job a lot easier. I think it’s just we’re still so new in the school year that we’re still waiting for some students to kind of warm up,” Nolin said.

With Nolin’s experience in teaching high schoolers in the past, she is eager to get to know her students, and hopes her  passion for teaching will play a role in their academic journey.

“I love watching kids come in as freshmen, and then by the time you guys graduate as seniors, and seeing how you grow, it’s just uplifting. And to know that I played a factor in that, really is inspiring,” Nolin said.