One of our beloved teachers, Ms. Andrea Joslyn, has just started teaching for her fifth year at Saint Francis. This year, she is teaching English 1, but in the past, she has also taught sophomore religion. As an alum of the class of 2005, she truly values the community at Saint Francis. She is an advisory mentor and currently runs the SF Thrive program, formerly known as the Saint Francis Family Club, and moderates BRIC Sisters.

The Lancer: What was your experience like as a high schooler and college student? What sorts of activities did you participate in, and was school something that came naturally to you or was it more difficult?

Ms. Andrea Joslyn: I loved high school. When I was here, I played tennis all four years. I played freshman soccer, but I wasn’t any good. I became aware during the season that it would be my last because I knew I just could no longer continue my soccer career. But I loved the social aspect of it, and I played tennis all the way through. I was involved in campus ministry back then, and there was a club back in the early 2000s called Teen Awareness Program (TAP). I was involved with social emotional skills, but advisory didn’t exist yet. I feel like it would have been what Thrive is now, but we just didn’t have that back then. Certain subjects came naturally to me, and definitely not others. English did come a little more naturally to me, and I really enjoyed reading and discussing literature. I loved the class discussion element of English class, history, and religious studies, too. And then I struggled in math and science; I did okay because my sister helped me. I have a twin sister, and her brain is like the math/science brain, and I was more of the humanities brain, so we would get home and help each other.

TL: What led you to become a teacher? Was it something you always knew you wanted to do, or was it more of a gradual realization?

AJ: I know this is rare, but it was something that I always knew I wanted to do. My mom is a teacher, and my grandma was a teacher, so it was, you know, in the family. When I was younger, I would actually set up my dolls and stuffed animals and play school all the time,  but it wasn’t until college that I decided I wanted to teach middle school and high school English. So [at an early age], I didn’t know necessarily what age or grade level. I just knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was six years old and never changed my mind. It was my English classes in college that made me decide that I wanted to specialize in that subject and teach at [the] middle school and high school [level].

TL: Is your sister also a teacher?

AJ: She is not. She actually got her degree in math, then a master’s in business. But she married a teacher, which I think is funny.

TL: Could you explain your teaching philosophy and how you exemplify it within the classroom?

AJ: My teaching philosophy is based on relationships and connection, which I know may sound cheesy, but it really is. I really prioritize and put a lot of time and effort into class community because I believe that if the students have a connection with me and especially with each other, they’ll learn the material in a much more significant, real way from me and especially from each other. So I invest a lot of time in community-building activities, and yes, it’s fun, but it’s also for the purpose of believing that the students will listen to each other and learn from each other a lot more if they feel connected. Our class motto is to live with compassion because you only know what it’s like to be yourself, and we need to withhold judgment and assumptions because you have no idea what it’s like to be anyone else besides yourself. If they’re talking or sharing, we want to listen to them, because I don’t even know what it’s like to be any of my students. I want to listen to them when they’re talking because I only know what it’s like to be me.

TL: What is the most taxing part of your job, and conversely, what is the most rewarding part?

AJ: The most taxing part is honestly the grading because I love being with the students. I could be having a really hard time with other things in my life, which usually I tell them about because it’s [important they see] me as a real person and [build] those connections. When I’m with the students in class is when I feel the most like myself. There’ve been times where I’ve been away from school, like when I had my kids or when we were home for COVID, but I really noticed my mental health declining because I wasn’t with the students. When something happens in class and everyone’s laughing, that is my favorite, and sometimes I’m in tears from laughing. Since grading isn’t that relationship—I know it’s important, obviously, to help them improve and as part of the job—it’s probably my least favorite part, because I’d rather be planning things and then using those activities with the students because that’s what I love about it.

TL: As an educator, what makes Saint Francis special to you? Is there something that the school does to uplift its faculty or is it something that also impacts its students?

AJ: Again, I know it sounds cheesy, but I think we really are a family for each other. Just the educators getting to know each other on a different level than coworkers, like knowing about each other’s families and things that are going on and helping each other when one person is down or needs more help, then someone else comes along and helps carry that load, and we all take turns doing that for each other. I think it’s really special and unique, versus other places where maybe it’s only a coworker relationship. I feel like we have great professional relationships, but we’re also really there for each other. And then like modeling that for the students—when someone has a bigger load to carry, help do that for them. And then eventually that’ll be you, right, [who] needs extra help, and then people can do that for you, too.

TL: When you are stressed, what do you like to do outside of the classroom?

AJ: Let’s see. I probably can’t say “go wine tasting.” Oh, it’s recording! I enjoy wine tasting, but also spending time with my kids outside, getting out and going on walks or going to the park. My parents live nearby, so being with my parents and out in nature. Also, I pray; my faith is something that is important to me, so when I’m feeling really stressed, I pray and I get encouragement from Scripture. And wine.

TL: What advice do you have for students who may be having a difficult time, whether it be socially or academically, at Saint Francis?

AJ: My advice would be to find even just one connection with someone on campus, whether it is a classmate or an upperclassman, or a teacher or a coach, because finding that one person that sees you can just really help you feel like you are important to the community, because [you] are. I know that can be really hard, especially to put yourself out there and try to grow those connections, but when you feel connected to a community, I feel like it helps in all the other areas that are difficult. And also, to come see me and get a Dum-Dum, and I’ll hug them.

TL: Now we have some lightning-round questions. If you could teach a subject other than those you currently teach, what would it be?

AJ: History.

TL: What is something you used to do before having kids that you can’t do anymore?

AJ: Sleep.

TL: What is your favorite Saint Francis tradition?

AJ: The rage cage.

TL: If you could be any fruit, what fruit would you be and why?

AJ: Strawberries because they’re always sweet.

TL: Last one. What is your favorite ice cream brand and flavor?

AJ: Oh, I’m so obsessed with ice cream. Tillamook or, oh gosh, what’s that other? Is it Dreyer’s? Is that a brand? Dreyer’s or Brey-

TL: Dreyer’s and Breyers are both brands.

AJ: Okay! I mean Breyers, not Dreyer’s. Breyers is better than Dreyer’s. I love anything super chocolatey.

Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.