Minnehaha’s new 10th and 11th-grade English teacher, Stephanie Sommer, decided to become a teacher only a few years ago. What preceded her career move was many years as a marketing executive across various industries and companies, including Estee Lauder and Lysol. Following ten years in New York City, she and her husband decided to move to his home state of Minnesota.
After starting a family, she realized how much she missed literature and decided to start teaching high school English classes. She is excited to be teaching Advanced Placement classes, especially, because of how she “gets to teach students how to organize and share ideas effectively.” Learning how to write is something she deems essential to being successful in college and the workplace. As a first-generation college student with a military-style upbringing, Sommer understands the values of grit and authenticity. When asked what she values most in her students, she said, “a willingness to work hard and take risks, because that is when you learn the most.”