Dear AP English Class of 2018,

Welcome to the wonderful world of AP! I absolutely love teaching this course, and I’m looking forward to a rewarding school year together! As I begin my tenth year of teaching, I’m setting lofty goals for myself and all of you. It’s important for me to get to know you and to establish a positive working rapport. To that end, I’ll fill you in on my background and eventual landing at TJ.

I graduated from Hempfield Area High School in 2003 before venturing to Happy Valley where I attended Penn State University. In 2007, I graduated from Penn State as the college marshal with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary English Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Public Relations. I didn’t originally intend to teach, as I was attracted to the business world of PR. However, after student teaching at Norwin High School, I fell in love with the classroom. Teaching has become one of my greatest passions. I completed my graduate work at Pitt, earning a Master’s degree in School Leadership and a K-12 principal certification. Despite this education at Pitt, I’ll always be a Nittany Lion– WE ARE! After finishing my Master’s, I earned my National Board teaching certification. This past summer, I became an official AP Reader for the College Board, scoring 1,150 student essays from the 2017 AP test administration. I feel it is important for all of us to continue to improve, grow, and learn well after our official “education” has concluded.

I grew up in Greensburg in a family of five. My brother Matt is now 29, a graduate of Penn State, and a senior engineer at Westinghouse. He travels frequently for work and was most recently stationed in Spain to supervise maintenance work on a nuclear power plant. My sister Alana is 26, also a graduate of Penn State, and working as a first grade teacher in Altoona, PA. I’m very close with both of my siblings and consider them among my best friends. In June of 2013, I married Mr. Kaszonyi and we “married” our AP classes together as well. In 2015, we bought and renovated a house in Upper St. Clair so that our fur baby, Bentley, could join our family. I’m sure you’ll hear about the adventures of Bentley often. J

When I’m not busy teaching, I enjoy traveling, boating, and camping. I’ve lived in Maryland and California, and I’ve traveled throughout most of the U.S. I’ve also had the fortunate opportunity to visit Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. Our favorite trips were to Eastern Europe where we explored our family heritage. Mr. Kaszonyi is Hungarian, so we enjoyed Budapest before venturing to Croatia, where my maternal grandfather is from. The Dalmatian coast is one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen, and we’d rank it as our favorite travel destination.

Each year, we also enjoy family traditions including a Christmas Eve pig roast, a summer trip to Myrtle Beach where we camp for two weeks at Ocean Lakes, and a winter trip to Northern Michigan where we enjoy snow mobiling and wood stove fires at the Kaszonyi family cabin. Some other things that I love, in no particular order, include homemade Italian food, reading for fun, Starbucks coffee, hosting bonfires with friends, and relaxing at the Mt. Lebanon pool.

My hope for you this school year is that you will learn a great deal about American literature, that you will become a skilled and confident writer, and that you will learn to appreciate and enjoy reading, analyzing, and discussing literary masterpieces. If you work hard and embrace learning, you will reap the rewards! Let’s have a great year together!

All the best to you,

Mrs. Kaszonyi