As the bell rings for first period, Jennifer Stroup’s students arrange their desks into the shape of a circle, something she remembers from her high school days at Trinity. As an alum of the school, Stroup looks forward to her first year teaching ninth and 10th grade English, and is excited to see how traditions have evolved since she graduated in 1999.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, Stroup graduated from University of Central Florida with a master’s degree in Literary, Cultural and Textual Studies. She also did further graduate work at Texas Christian University.
During her time at UCF, Stroup was a teaching assistant and took courses about teaching college literature and composition. She later taught literature and composition for four semesters at TCU. Stroup said she looks forward to sharing her passion with others, and hoping they will love reading as well.
“I have always felt a deep connection to literature and to reading,” Stroup said. “It brought me joy and comfort.”
Stroup is excited to see what experiences her students bring to her class. Her main goals are to develop relationships with her students and help them feel more empowered and invested in their education.
“Not everybody is a reader, not everybody is a writer, not everybody likes English,” Stroup said. “Where I get my joy from is those who come in with preconceived notions, or who are kind of hesitant to say that they like it, and seeing them find something that they like or hopefully change their expectations.”
When Stroup isn’t teaching English, she likes to spend her free time reading, biking, riding roller coasters and hanging out with her friends.
Stroup said that while she attended Trinity, her teachers showed her that English could be her future, not just a hobby.
“I really wanted to give back and share that,” Stroup said. “I think Trinity is a really special place, and I wanted to be part of the family in a different role besides alumni.”
