Nov 1, 2024
Topic: Meet our Alumni
Contributed by Comms Intern, Thomas Parker
For as long as she can remember, Gillian Sherman has dreamed of being a teacher. Her time in District 21, attending Longfellow Elementary School and Cooper Middle School, taught her a lot and helped her work towards this goal. Sherman has fond memories of her time at Longfellow and Cooper. One of her favorite memories is attending Cooper’s Lighted School House events and movie nights with her friends. Sherman also recalls her classes with some of her favorite teachers. Some of the most impactful include Ms. Kellerman (Cooper), Ms. Sprehe (Cooper), Ms. Lambert (Cooper), Ms. Slesnick (Cooper), Ms. Schneider (Cooper), Mrs. Long (Longfellow), and many others. She stated, “These teachers encouraged and supported me throughout any anxiety or low moments I may have experienced. They consistently believed in me and helped me build my confidence as a student and a leader.” As a student, she remembers being a hard worker and a perfectionist when it came to her studies—traits that continue to define her work as a kindergarten teacher today.
Sherman is starting her sixth year in her dream job as a kindergarten teacher in Mundelein, IL, and has loved every second of it. She claims that none of her former teachers would be surprised to hear she is teaching, as some of them used to give her their old teaching supplies to play with after school. While Sherman received a lot of support from her teachers, the most pivotal influence on her teaching dream was her father, who worked as an elementary school principal. “Ever since I was little, my dad was a principal in an elementary school, so I saw that growing up…and ever since, I don’t remember ever wanting to do anything else,” she said. Her favorite part of the job is seeing the growth and evolution of her students from the first day of school to the last, no matter how small the changes may seem. Some lessons she learned from her time in District 21 that she likes to teach in her own classroom include that it’s okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them, and the importance of being kind to others as well as to yourself.
Though she teaches in Mundelein, Sherman remains connected to the local community and loves attending the Wheeling Farmers Market whenever she can. Sherman also recently completed the process of obtaining her master’s degree this past year. She plans to use it in hopes of one day advancing to a leadership position in education. While this is her ultimate goal, Sherman’s love for the classroom is strong, and she has no plans to stop teaching anytime soon.