Known for her passion in educating her students on the importance of banned books and enthusiasm to include everyone in her classroom, the Zephyr would like to congratulate English teacher, Jaela Marshall, on being this November’s Staff Member of the Month.
Marshall attended Appalachian State University and received her bachelor’s degree in English Secondary Education, later she would also attend the University of North Carolina at Pembroke to earn her master’s degree in the same subject, so she would be able to teach high school English classes. Additionally, Marshall is also certified to teach community college courses after earning her master’s degree at Eastern Carolina University. As of now, she is currently enrolled in Appalachian State University’s Interdisciplinary Studies doctoral program to receive her Ph.D in the censorship of banned books and public education to study how that situation reflects our society as a whole.
Marshall has dedicated herself to teaching in a multitude of ways, from different subjects such as English Second Language (ESL) to even being an educator in different countries across the globe.
“I’ve been teaching for about 13 years in three different countries: the United States, South Korea and Japan. In the U.S., I’ve always taught high school English, but in Asia, I taught ESL courses from kindergarten levels to high school,” Marshall said.
Although Marshall has proven to be a well- rounded and excellent educator, she was also a fantastic artist before she took up teaching.
“When my husband was active-duty military, it was difficult for me to keep teaching because we moved often. For eight years, I worked as an artist, and I made money through commissioned work. I painted body positive portraits of women,” Marshall said.
Marshall is known for her enthusiasm towards traveling the world, not only to teach but also to explore and fully experience the many different cultures around her, hence her teaching in the U.S., South Korea, Japan, etc.
“I’ve traveled to Spain, France, Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, Mexico, Costa Maya, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Belize, South Korea, DMZ, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Monaco. I’ve lived in England, South Korea, and Japan. Traveling is liberation in its most authentic form. You get to break away from every box people try to stuff you inside and experience life so far beyond what you can imagine.” Marshall said.
Marshall also shows her support at West within the Creative Writing Club, helping members explore their writing abilities freely and giving them more opportunities to write what they want.
“I sponsor the Creative Writing Club, but honestly, they have a fantastic club president. They hardly need me at all; she does a great job running the club and keeping it active. I just get to sit back and watch all the quirky madness in action,” Marshall said.
While in her freetime, Marshall enjoys spending time cooking for her family, friends and community to bring people together.
“I’m busy with homework on most days, but I love to cook for people. My oldest son and I spend time together cooking in the evenings, and I will often feed people in my department. My favorite thing to bring to work is banana bread,” Marshall said.
Since Marshall is busy at college earning her Ph.D, unfortunately, she doesn’t have any free time to volunteer for the community, but would love to after she graduates in the future.
“I do not currently work for any other organization, but once I finish school and have more free time, I would love to spend more time volunteering at the food banks,” Marshall said.
Marshall shows determination to keep learning and spreading that knowledge no matter what age you are, and if you want to support her at our school or hear one of her famous stories from around the world, consider taking one of her English classes or joining the Creative Writing Club.
