By Gabby Martucci
Alexandra Fogarty, 28, has taught English at Oliver Ames High School for four years. Ms. Fogarty has lived around Providence her entire life, and travels to Easton to teach at OA every week day.
Ms. Fogarty claims she did not have a super intriguing childhood; however, she was a very competitive gymnast for fifteen years of her life. She states that “gymnastics taught [her] time management and social skills” as well as helped her find her lifelong friends. Ms. Fogarty learned lots from her gymnastics experience, and loves having the “knowledge of her body” that she gained from it.
The amount of time and effort Ms. Fogarty put into gymnastics was able to teach her time management. This has helped her throughout her whole life. Gymnastics is a passion of hers because it keeps her active and motivated.
“The thought of quitting gymnastics when I was younger never crossed my mind” represents Ms. Fogarty’s dedication to gymnastics. She states that it has allowed her to stay focused on problems that are longer, which makes her never afraid of a challenge.
Even when Ms. Fogarty was in high school, she never got distracted or unfocused because gymnastics kept her right on track. Ms. Fogarty went to a private catholic school in Rhode Island. Her family was also very dedicated to gymnastics, her younger sister Megan and older sister Amanda both doing it along with her. The fact her sisters competed with her always kept her on her toes, as she was always trying to improve her skills.
“I did not always know I wanted to be a teacher,” stated Ms. Fogarty. She started working at Rhode Island College her junior year in college as someone who taught English to Immigrants. Ms. Fogarty attended Providence College and later she started tutoring the lunch lady at Providence College, and fell in love with teaching. Ms. Fogarty’s experiences with teaching have brought her where she is today and she “has never been more happy.”
“My favorite part about being a teacher is watching the students learn.” Ms. Fogarty chose to teach high schoolers because she did not want to “be babysitting at the same time.” Her favorite part about teaching students is watching their knowledge grow…she loves when kids are walking out of the class talking about the lesson they just learned.
In her future, she wants to get married and have kids, though she believes it is not one of her major priorities right now. The twenty eight years Ms. Fogarty has been alive she has learned so much and admits she has “found out a lot about herself throughout her life.”