If you’ve ever taken an APUSH or Honors US class at CHS, chances are you’ve had Ms. Connors as your teacher. You’ve probably heard her talk about historical context and done the dreaded textbook readings. She’s been teaching history at CHS for ten years now, and she still brings as much enthusiasm to the subject as when she started.
So what inspired her to teach history? “Honestly, my own high school teachers,” she said. “They made history exciting, and I really looked up to them. At one point, I thought about becoming a Spanish teacher, but when I got to college, I just kept taking history classes I liked—and here we are, ten years later.”
Over the years, Ms. Connors has taught just about every level of US history at Chatham. After teaching for so long, she has many favorite topics to teach. “For U.S. I, I love the Road to the Civil War—Manifest Destiny, the Mexican-American War, sectionalism. It’s so interesting,” she expressed. “In U.S. II, I love the 1960s. There’s so much going on—civil rights, Vietnam, LBJ and the Great Society. It’s packed, but it’s fun.”
For anyone taking her classes right now, listen up: her biggest piece of advice for history students is to understand the larger picture of things. “Don’t just memorize Quizlet terms,” she said. “Connect them to the bigger picture. That’s when history actually makes sense.”
Outside of teaching, Ms. Connors has lived a pretty adventurous life. During college, she worked at a skydiving center and ended up jumping out of planes five times. “At 18, I was young and reckless,” she laughed. “Would I do it now? Probably not!” She’s also worked at a tanning salon, a pizzeria, and even an airport. If she weren’t a teacher, she imagines being a travel guide—or better yet, a travel influencer. “Anything that combines my love for travel and organization,” she said.
If she could time-travel herself, Ms. Connors said she’d go back to the Progressive Era, to witness the women’s suffrage movement. “The energy of that grassroots organizing and the passing of the 19th Amendment would’ve been amazing to experience.”
Looking ahead, she wants her students to feel more confident speaking in class. “More discussions, more debates—I want to get students comfortable in academic settings. It’s something I’ve been working toward, and I want to push it further this year.” she explained.
More than anything, she hopes students remember how her class felt. “I know they won’t remember every detail, but I want them to feel like they were welcome and that I cared about them. If they can look back and know I was in their corner, that’s what matters most.”