Juggling Roles
In the seventeenth issue of the LAzine, we published a note from Fulbright Scholar Savina Rendina, who was spending a semester in Saint Malo, France, as part of her award. Despite her great experiences, when it came time for the double major in comparative literature and international studies to graduate, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do.
Teaching was always in the back of Rendina's mind and she followed that interest to her current job teaching eleventh-grade English at Hampton Township High School, north of Pittsburgh. The Hampton Township job is her third teaching position since graduating from Penn State in 2003. The summer immediately preceding graduation, Rendina went to France for a year and used her fluent French to teach tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades.
So, what’s the biggest differences between students here and there?
“Students respect teachers a lot more over there,” she says. “Plus the arts are really encouraged and sports are much less competitive, which makes it more fun. Everyone plays sports, no matter your skill level.”
After returning from France, Rendina met her husband, Regan Cupps, who is also a high school teacher. The two decided to move to eastern North Carolina and teach in a rural high school. Rendina taught ninth grade English in the tiny town of Bayboro. “It was more of a culture shock than going to France,” she recalls. “We loved the students, the school, and the laid-back nature of things but eventually that slow pace got to us. We missed our families.”
The Cupps have been in Pittsburgh since then, moving back two years ago. Besides literature, Rendina teaches a variety of courses including public speaking, English communications, and college prep “ Hampton is an awesome school,” she says. “The administration is great, the parents are really involved, and the students are thoroughly engaged. It’s a tremendous place to work.”
Such praise is not surprising, considering the school is ranked fourth in the state, according to Rendina.
Rendina’s husband teaches science at a high school in the city of Pittsburgh and the two compare notes all the time. “Although the subjects are different, teenagers are teenagers no matter where they are,” she explains.