Mary Schwartz is one of Nest’s newest additions to the English department, as well as a new AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) teacher this school year. She has been an educator for 14 years, and won teacher of the month at Skyline in January of 2024. Growing up Amish, joining the Army National Guard right out of high school, and serving in Iraq has fostered her diverse view of the world. She believes these experiences give an edge to her teaching and help her fully reach students. Schwartz moved to Utah from Kansas in 2023 and has been thrilled to teach at Skyline, claiming her experience so far has been truly rewarding. She said, “I’m so glad I made the move from Kansas to here. I really love it.”
Schwartz has learned so much growing up Amish. When asked what particularly she brings to her teaching from that experience, she stated, “Community. Amish people are all about being in a community of people that work hard together. I loved that aspect of growing up. I also loved the creativity, the reading we did together, playing games […] that was such a huge part of growing up that I love to bring into the classroom.” She also claims being a hard worker is a huge aspect of the Amish identity, and it is key in her personality today.
Schwartz was also in the Army National Guard for 6 years after finishing high school. “I thought I was going to be joining the Army National Guard to do things like helping out with hurricanes, because Katrina happened. I was like, ‘United States! I get to rebuild stuff and help people!’ That did not happen. I went to Iraq instead.” She was in the military police and went to Iraq for 18 months, where their mission was to help the Iraqi police get set up. She explained, “There were insurgents within the Iraqi police.” Schwartz explained that it was a very dangerous time to be in Iraq, and there was always a sense that she needed to watch her back. She said, “We had a real spike in casualties while I was there, and when I came back from military police, there were so many people deployed that we would backfill. We had to fill in the places of people that were deployed on active duty post to make sure there were enough [soldiers].” After backfilling, she returned to doing regular police work. When asked what she learned from that experience, Schwartz said, “Confidence. Head up, shoulders back. ‘Fake it ‘till you are it’ is my slogan.” She also finds that being so close to death brought a sense of indulgence for the present moment. “My biggest takeaway from being in the Army is you’re never guaranteed tomorrow, so enjoy every little bit of your day, whether that’s Starbucks coffee, the sun coming up over the mountains, seeing my kids in class. Whatever that is. Just enjoy that part,” she said.
A big part of Schwartz’s passion for education are the values of the AVID program. She serves on the AVID Site Team, which guides teachers in using strategies to help all students succeed in their academic endeavors. She stated, “AVID is a program designed for first generation college goers. For my own experience, both of my parents only went [until] eighth grade, and because of the Amish, that’s the only [schooling] allowed. I was the first one to go to high school, and then the first to go to college.” One of the key reasons Schwartz went straight to the Army was because she didn’t know how to pay for college. “I was a 3.9 student. I graduated second in my class. Now looking back, I could have done an easier route of scholarships, but I had no idea. Even with FAFSA, which is a financial aid form, I had no idea about that. With the low income of my family, I could have gone to college for free. How many kids walk in our halls and don’t know that?” she said.
When asked what she would want students to know about her, Schwartz said, “That I care. Every day. I just want them to know, at the end of the day, somebody really cares about them, is in their corner and only wants the best for them.” To close off, she had one last message for Skyline: “If it’s IB that you want to try, or a new sport, or something that feels out of reach, if you have even a little bit in your heart that wonders […] Go do it, because you would rather do it and not do great than live the rest of your life with regret. Because you can do it.”
