This year, Pompano Beach High School will be saying goodbye to three hard-working and longtime teachers: Lalita Maharaj, Gregory Johnson, and Gregory Zolna. With years of experience, they find retiring to be bittersweet.
Chemistry teacher Lalita Maharaj has been teaching for 35 years. She did not initially plan to be a teacher, and at the start of her career, it was not her goal. “I think my parents were a part of the influence,” she said. “My mom and dad influenced me because they felt teaching was a respectable and secure career at the time.”
“After the first two years of teaching, I realized that I could make an impact on students’ lives,” Maharaj said. “I felt rewarded and gratified every time I saw students’ “light bulbs” turn on in their head when they understood the concepts being taught.” For her, the true reward of teaching has been the moments when students grasp and understand the material. “I have gotten feedback from many students who actually furthered their careers in chemistry and science,” she said.
Her journey as a teacher started in Trinidad, where she worked with middle school students. “We didn’t have as much technology but had many more days off and used the chalk and talk method,” she said. Before arriving at Pompano Beach High School, Maharaj taught adult ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) in the United States. “Adult ESOL was fabulous,” she said. “Students would thank me when they left every day, and no discipline was ever used.” Overall, the environment was very respectful, and she loved interacting with professionals and other adult students from all around the world.
When she arrived at Pompano Beach High School in 2006, it took some adjusting. “It was a big switch for me because I went to high school and college in Trinidad,” she said. “Luckily, I had a very good Head of Department, Mr. Marchand, and my teacher mentors were Mrs. Zambrano and Dr. Singkornrat.” They supported her a lot in her first two years, and she learned a lot from them.
As she looks ahead to retirement later this year, Maharaj hopes to travel with her husband,spend time in India, and enjoy her hobbies. “I am at a stage in my life where I am trying to grow spiritually and personally, and become more involved in religious practices,” she said. While she looks forward to having an open schedule and sleeping in, she doesn’t believe she can do it forever. “I think I just need a few months or maybe a year to relax, and then I want to come back and do something to help serve the community.”
Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) teacher Gregory Johnson has made an impact on students for 20 years. Before working in a classroom, Johnson spent 21 and a half years on active duty in the military. “Somewhere around the 15th year, I started asking myself what I wanted to do after I retired,” he said. Teaching had always remained in the back of his mind, so when he found out about the JROTC program, he jumped at the idea. “When I found out about it, I knew it was for me and that’s what I wanted to do.”
When Johnson first started back in the 2005-2006 school year, things were very different. “We would tell our students to go outside to play kickball or something active and they would practically be breaking the door down to get there first,” he said. “But I think something changed in around 2013. I would hear the words ‘it’s too hot’ or ‘can we stay in?’ and I think that’s when the whole gaming mindset took over.”
Overall, Johnson’s favorite part of teaching has been seeing students transform throughout the years. “At first, they’ll be wanting to get out of the class, and then after the first quarter, they’ll usually come around to JROTC and want to be a part of it.”
Johnson believes that true leaders do not lead by just giving orders but by actually participating in the task at hand. “I would never ask them to do something that I wouldn’t be willing to do,” he said. “Like if I tell my students to do pushups, I’ll do it with them.”
After retirement, Johnson plans to invest his time in serving the community. “I want to work and do things at my church,” he said. Financial stability has given him the freedom to work for things he wants to do, not just for a paycheck. Johnson takes particular interest in a program called Sheridan House that works with many different ministries. “One of them works with young boys who may be on a bad path to help steer them the right way.” Overall, Johnson describes his time at Pompano High as “golden.”
Art teacher Gregory Zolna has thought of teaching as a lifelong dream, beginning as a young child when she used to play teacher. “I used to force my little brother to sit down, tell him I’m gonna teach him something, and make him take a test on what I taught,” she said. “I loved to write tests and grade them.”
Throughout her time as a teacher, Zolna has witnessed many changes in education. “When I first started, we used to do everything by hand and there were no computers,” she said. “The computers came in to try to help us but really things got more complex.” She thinks teaching used to be much simpler before all the technological equipment. “Now, there’s a whole lot more responsibility that teachers are required to have.”
Despite these challenges, Zolna’s favorite part of teaching has remained watching her students grow. “Being able to see them learn and watching them be proud of their work is always a great feeling,” she said. “I hope that they can enjoy a craft for the rest of their life.” Zolna knows that even though she is known for being a strict teacher, her students ultimately benefit and often express their gratitude later on. “Some of them have even gone on to use art in their career, from Pixar animation to writing.”
For new teachers entering the profession, Zolna has strong advice for them. “Relax and remember that it’s not about perfection every year but about growing and making your lessons better,” she said.
Zolna describes moving on from her teaching career as bittersweet. She has been able to help students’ lives, and in turn, helped herself grow personally. “I grew as an artist, person, and speaker,” she said. “And it’s so wonderful to be able to find that thing in your life that you want to do because even after all of these years, I have never dreaded coming to work, which is a wonderful thing.”
Looking ahead to retirement, Zolna looks forward to relaxing and possibly continuing small teaching jobs. “I’m already looking for little sidebar places where I can teach something,” she said.
Overall, Zolna, Maharaj, and Johnson are sad but happy about leaving their teaching careers behind, and are excited for what their next chapters may bring.
