By: Presley Burkley
Mrs. Ferry is the librarian at Garnet Valley High School, but did you also know that she runs our very own yearbook club? She is a newer teacher at Garnet Valley and has been one of many whose teaching job was affected by Covid 19. She takes pride in the hard work of the committee, along with her responsibilities here at the school.
How has Covid 19 affected Mrs. Ferry?
Mrs. Ferry transferred to Garnet Valley High School 3 years ago but sadly has yet to live a normal year teaching here. Her first few months as the Library Media Specialist here were great! She was running the library smoothly and felt comfortable with the ins and outs of the school. Then suddenly Covid 19 hit, cutting short the typical year for her and many other teachers. Between Zoom calls and online activities, Mrs. Ferry had to learn how to work as a virtual librarian and yearbook advisor. Although with all of the trials and tribulations she went through, she and the yearbook committee managed to produce a great book, even if it was filled with many Zoom screenshots.
How did Mrs. Ferry become a teacher, and join the yearbook club?
Many people may be wondering how she managed to become a teacher in the first place, or how she joined the yearbook club. Well, Mrs. Ferry didn’t always want to be a librarian, she once dreamed of becoming an event planner. She went to college and got her undergraduate degree in Communication Studies. Mrs. Ferry went on to backpack around Europe after graduation, and then landed a job as an Organ Transplant Coordinator in the BioMedical Field. The position was a departure from her intended course, but it was hard to find event planning jobs right after 9/11. She knew she didn’t want to stay in that field for long; so, she decided to get a graduate degree in English Education from Temple University and pursue a career in education.
She was an English teacher prior to becoming a librarian at Collegium Charter School, which was a lot smaller and different from GVHS. When she transferred to GVHS, she described the library as a collaborative space and said it “felt more like a college student union.” As for joining the yearbook club, she was approached by Mr. Brandt to take over the advisor position. Being creative, loving photography, and serving the entire school population, it seemed like a good fit. Luckily, she has done a wonderful job handling the yearbook during Covid. She said that the yearbook is “a major undertaking,” and includes a ton of work and lots of “trial and error.”
Mrs. Ferry and her 4 senior yearbook editors have decided to make this year’s yearbook a throwback Polaroid theme, going off of the concept that we should “enjoy the small moments.” While she has seen firsthand how hard it is to make a yearbook especially during a pandemic, and the tremendous amount of work that goes into it, she says “the yearbook is ultimately reflective of the school each year, whatever that may be.” The GVHS tradition is that all graduating seniors automatically receive a yearbook as a graduation keepsake. The Yearbook Club meets every other Tuesday during Learn 1 in the Quiet Study Area of the library if you’re interested in joining!