Written By: Olivia Di Guilelmo, Staff Writer
PASSION: Poly’s widely-admired Spanish teacher, Sra. Soliman, shares her love for her career!
Sra. Soliman has been teaching Spanish at Poly for thirty years now, and fully deserves the spotlight to be on her in this edition of Poly Spotlight.
As someone who has stuck with teaching Spanish to high schoolers for such an extended amount of time, one can wonder what motivates Sra. Soliman to deal with the workload. When asked, she replied wholeheartedly, exclaiming that she loves the kids and “watching them become who they are meant to be,” as well as “helping along the way.” Considering she attended the “close-knit” high school of Notre Dame as a teenager, she experienced a big “culture shock” when she came to Poly and witnessed the opposite of a small school. However, Poly’s large population does not stop Sra. Soliman from bringing her students closer together through her genuine style of teaching. She strives to make her class the favorite of all of her students and provides an educational environment that is both academically and socially worthwhile. Sra. Soliman is proud of the fact that “everyone carries a little bit of [her] class with them,” whether it is solely Spanish related or the positive mindset she preaches to her students on the daily. She continues teaching with content although “education has changed a lot” since she began her career.
Sra. Soliman was inspired to teach Spanish after her own high school Spanish teacher “changed her life.” She feels that by teaching the subject at the high school level, she can make the difference that was made for her. She strives to provide a fun high school experience to her pupils, just as she described hers to be. Sra. Soliman began her teaching career after attending UCR and graduating in 1993. She chose Poly as her “home,” even with three other offers on the table at the time.
Sra. Soliman has a beautiful 13-year-old daughter who is “a product of RUSD,” and she “does everything with her on campus”. She attends school events which makes it easy for Soliman to “support [her] students” while having her daughter be a part of it. If you have been fortunate enough to have Sra. Soliman as a teacher here at Poly, you know that Sra creates an environment where all her students are family. Thank you for all your years of dedication to us, Sra. Soliman. You brighten so many of our lives.
The liveliness Soliman constantly promotes across campus makes students, even those who aren’t in her class, feel loved and appreciated at Poly. She engages with every student and makes it her goal to provide support for them in any way she can. As a school that promotes PRIDE, the presence of Senora Soliman at Poly is undoubtedly necessary for the community to thrive in its aspirations.