The Megaphone asked all the new educators joining the Irish family this year to tell us a little about themselves. Meet German teacher Mrs. Carol Heckman.

 Mrs.  Carol Heckman, German teacher

BS, Indiana University; MS, Butler University

Why did you choose to apply to Cathedral? I was asked to come on board to teach the advanced German classes. After four years of retirement, I feel rested, energized and ready to serve the third and fourth year German students at my daughters’ alma mater.

Describe your professional experience prior to Cathedral: Thirty-five years teaching German and French at Lawrence Central High School.

This year’s Cathedral theme is Excellence. How will you carry out this goal in your classroom?

As an educator, I have long valued rigor, because in my experience, rigor inevitably leads to excellence. My students will speak, write, read and listen to German each class period, with the goal of fluency by the time they graduate.

What are your professional and personal goals at Cathedral this year? Professionally, my goal is to help my students reach a level of language proficiency which will stand them in good stead as they enter college. Personally, my goal is to help instill in them a love and appreciation for the German speaking countries and their citizens.

What is an interesting fact about you that students would be surprised to know? I jumped out of an airplane at 10,000 feet, did a flip and free fell for the first half of the trip down.