Ms. Esposito: still learning, still growing

Mrs. Esposito has always had a love for learning.

Esposito is originally from Tucson, Arizona and grew up with her brother, mom and dad. She has pleasant memories of her childhood and now realizes how truly lucky she was to have such security as she grew up.

Esposito found one of her biggest role models early on in life: her dad. She describes him as being her opposite when she was young. Where she was loud and passionate, he was calm and fair.

Her father was an Army veteran who served in Korea and Vietnam, and much of her admiration and respect for him stemmed from his dedication to his country. But it was his belief in others that she cherishes most.

“He had a ton of faith in people and belief in not only people but kids, young people, believing that they knew way more than anybody gave them credit for, and had a lot more potential to
enact change than anybody,” Esposito said.

One of his accomplishments that she is most proud of is his creation of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA) at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The academy focuses on leadership, which is one of the most important lessons that Esposito learned from her dad.

Growing up, Esposito was always intellectually curious but admits that she didn’t always have a career path in mind other than becoming President or the Sugar Plum Fairy. But during
high school, she had one of the most formative experiences of her life when she was an exchange student to the Soviet Union. She got to attend a Russian high school and interact with the students there.

She still reflects on how she taught the students what the English curse words were in the book they were translating. It was this moment that made her realize that she wanted to be a teacher. This love for teaching was also fostered by two of her high school teachers: Dr. Tumblin and Mrs. Moore. They were polar opposites, but both women were phenomenal teachers who
pushed her and taught Esposito so much. They showed her how important having a great teacher is.

Esposito went on to attended Scripps College in California where she graduated with a degree in English and Latin American studies. During college, she learned some tough lessons about
friendship and other’s personal motivations, but she most remembers feeling like she was her own person and that she was discovering herself.

In her classroom, Esposito commands the room and always makes sure that the class is engaged and being asked thought-provoking questions. Esposito loves to talk with her students. She remembers her mother saying how Esposito loved to interact with people.

“I would be very bored. ‘There’s no people here, it’s so boring’ I’d say all the time,” Esposito said.

This desire to be with people, made teaching a natural choice for Esposito. To sit in her class, it is easy to see how much she loves to teach and how much she loves to be with her students.

“The interactive nature of teaching is good for me.”