Lately, I have had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Matson-Warner who started teaching Spanish here at Corry in December. Though she is Mrs. Egli’s substitute, she does hope to continue her career here at Corry. She may be a Spanish teacher now, but she actually has a teaching certification in health & phys ed. She said, “…I often would be given Spanish substitute jobs at my old district (South Williamsport School District). Then I worked as a long-term substitute for their Spanish teacher before moving to this area. So I just kind of fell into teaching Spanish.” Now, of course Mrs. Matson-Warner knew Spanish very well in order to teach it.

I proceeded to ask Mrs. Matson-Warner if she ever went on a trip to somewhere dealing with Spanish-speaking. She  then told me, “My late father-in-law lived in Mexico for a while and I visited him and his partner who is Chicana. I also have traveled to Key West and used Spanish there.  My best friend lives outside of Tampa and when I visit her (used to be about once a year) we use Spanish.” I have to say, that is super cool!

Because she is a teacher, I had to ask the question: did you always want to be a teacher? To that, she answered yes. She mentioned how both of her paternal grandparents taught at Jamestown Community College, and how she used to help her grandfather grade English papers. She said, “There are lots of childhood pictures of me ‘teaching’ my stuffed animals and sister.”

Moving away from job-related questions, I asked what her favorite food was. She responded with peanut butter. “Even right out of the jar on a spoon,” she added. Her preferred subject in school was health class, and her favorite movies are the “Lord of the Rings.” Her favorite holiday is actually Yule, which is observed on the winter solstice. Her biggest pet-peeve is, “probably when someone is rude.” I continued on and asked if she had any pets. She answered, “I have a short hair orange kitty named Merry and a Maine Coon kitty named Pippin.” Pets are always nice companions to have around the house.

I then moved onto the topic of what hobbies she has outside of teaching. Mrs. Matson-Warner likes to spend time outside, be with family and friends, and read. She also mountain climbs, which I find very interesting. Her favorite vacation place is going to a camp she has in the Adirondacks. That sounds amazing! Her cherished childhood memory was camping with her family. One very interesting fact about Mrs. Matson-Warner is that her mother’s side is almost completely Swedish, so she can actually speak some Swedish.

Overall, it has been very nice hearing some fun facts about Mrs. Matson-Warner and getting to know her. Thank you for being willing to be interviewed, and on behalf of the student body, we hope you enjoy Corry High!