Trista Norton, who started her career at BRHS, rejoins the staff this year as a science teacher.
Q. What was your favorite subject in school?
A. English because I love to read and I love to write. I’m a pretty good writer. When I was in college, I went to John Jay College of Criminal Justice. I was a writing tutor for the writing department because I was a really good writer.
Q. What kind of student were you like in high school?
A. I could’ve done a lot better. I didn’t really apply myself. I didn’t really work hard. I didn’t take it seriously. I passed all of my classes because I knew I’d get in trouble with my parents.
Q. Why did you decide to become a teacher?
A. I always kind of imagined myself being a teacher, but when I went to college that wasn’t the plan. I realized that the teaching career was a good one. Teaching is good for somebody to get into for themselves but it’s also a good career to be in because it’s not boring and it’s very rewarding; you get to work with a lot of different people and I think working in an office or something like that was not for me. I definitely wanted to work with a lot of different people. I love working with teenagers and I love that it’s not a boring job.
Q. Why did you pick BRHS?
A. So when I was in graduate school for teaching, we had to do some observation hours. I chose Bronx River to do some observation hours in and I really liked the school. I liked the community and culture of Bronx River so when I left that day. I thanked Mr. Fucheck for letting me come and observe. Not too long after that a science position opened up and he asked me if I would like to come in for an interview. I have spent many years here.
Q. Where did you go to college?
A. So I graduated from John Jay College Criminal Justice. I then went to graduate school at Manhattanville and also to Mercy College.
Q. What do you like to do for fun?
A. I like to go hiking and camping. I like to watch movies and some shows. I went on my first cruise this summer and I fell in love with cruising. I can’t wait to go on my next cruise.
Q. Do you have any pets?
A. Yes I have a dog whose name is Elsa and two cats. I have a really old cat. His name is Wyatt. Before I was a teacher, I was working at a veterinarian hospital and the police brought him in. He was injured and was not healthy at all. He needed a lot of help so I took him home to try to get him better. I ended up keeping him. My other cat Tony was just kind of coming around the house. He was pretty friendly so when I could pick him up I brought him to the vet to get his shots and everything.”
Q. Do you have fun or interesting facts about you?
A. Hmm, fun fact that might be interesting about me is I have a giraffe stag beetle larva at home. I’m currently caring for it. I’ve had it for almost a year. It just kind of stays inside of a special soil that it needs and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger. It is right now almost the size of my hand. It is about to go into its pupa stage and when it comes out as an adult. It’s the largest species of stag beetles on the planet. It’s originally from Indonesia.
Q. If you weren’t a teacher right now what would you be doing instead?
A. I would probably be working with animals in some way but definitely still in the science field.
Q. What would you like your students to know about you?
A. I am on their side. I know they are capable of amazing things. I hope they come to realize how beautiful the world is and what place they are in.
Q. Do you have any hobbies?
A. I like to garden, go hiking and camping.
Q. Do you have a quote you would like for the newspaper that will stand out to you as a new biology teacher?
A. Yes, my favorite quote is by a famous scientist whose name is Carl Sagan and it’s “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
