May, 2024
By Joseph Nino, Arts & Culture Editor
As the Class of 2024 is ready to graduate and say their bye-byes to KAC, someone else will also be graduating along with the seniors. That is none other than AP Lang teacher, Ms. Blanco. Although many students here may not know who she is, the Class of 2024 has been lucky enough to have some history with her. Many seniors have known Ms. Blanco since the 2021-2022 school year when she was teaching English II during their sophomore year. During the 2022-2023 school year, she transitioned to become the AP English Language teacher, and since then she remained in that position. However, many seniors were surprised to hear that this would be Ms. Blanco’s last year here as a lot of them saw how professional and well-mannered she is during class which caused the assumption that she would continue to teach the future seniors. Even though many of the underclassmen may not know who she is or what she does, this will provide further insight into her role at KAC, and some personal thoughts coming from Ms. Blanco herself!
What was your role working at KAC?
B: I started off as a guest teacher in 2018, and after that, I taught world literature, and then English + Composition II, then became a grade level chair, as well as an instructional coach, and then AP Lang.
How long have you been working here at KAC?
B: Since 2018 so for 6 years I have been teaching at KAC.
What made you want to start working as a teacher at KAC?
B: The school that I taught at before was a school that served low-income students, so I wanted to serve at a school that had a similar demographic, so I wanted to work somewhere similar. Whenever I started working here as a guest teacher, people told me this was the best place to work as a teacher.
What legacy do you want to leave behind at KAC for the future of AP Language?
B: SPAM + EXC (laughs)
How did it feel jumping from English II to AP Language?
B: It was a huge jump because AP Lang taught me so much. Like, I even thought it was similar to English II but it was so much tougher because there were times when I had to learn with students along the way but even then it was pretty fun. I also learned how language is powerful, words are powerful, and how persuasion is powerful. It was a jump!
When you were a senior in high school, what did you think you would do as an adult?
B: Don’t laugh, but, I majored in Journalism. Like I wanted to write and do travel writing. I wrote for my school’s paper and was an editor as well, and because of it I really thought that it was going to be my career.
How did you feel when you transitioned from high school to college/university?
B: Sooo great! It was so great! I was so ready because I was someone who would do my own things at school like I would go to the library during lunch and no one in my school did that. I always did my own thing all the time and I was in a way a “lone wolf”, So I felt ready for that change in transition.
Did you ever imagine you would be going to grad school?
B: I did, I have been applying since 2018, but I was scared to do so. As a matter of fact I actually had my goals written down in a notebook and a lot of them have actually been done except for going to grad school which is something I wanted to be done with.
What is your to-go order at your favorite restaurant
B: My favorite restaurant is Chic-Fil-A, and my to-go order is The Deluxe Chicken Sandwich with Sweet Tea and everything on it. (laughs)
Ms. Blanco will be attending St. Edward’s University to pursue graduate studies and is excited to finally be able to do this after many years of contemplation. We all wish her very well on this journey!
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