New social studies teacher Mrs. Wickstrom dreamt of being a teacher since the second grade, now those dreams have come true.

Q: When did you decide to be a teacher?

I decided to be a teacher when I was in elementary school. But I wanted to teach little kids in second and third grade. And then when I got to high school, I was like, “I love my classes and love my teachers.” And maybe I want to teach at a high school.

Q: Do you have any past teaching experiences at any other schools?

I started teaching in 2016 at Libertyville High School. Then I went to Cary Grove High School in 2017. And then Gray’s Lake High School in 2018 for four years, and now I’m here during my seventh year of teaching at Barrington.

Q: What subject do you teach?

I am a social studies teacher. And I’ve taught U.S history, world history, government, geography, current issues, and psychology.

Q: How is BHS different from your past teaching experiences?

Compared to my last schools, BHS is very big with over 3000 kids, and my old school only had 1400 kids. That’s probably the biggest difference. And then with more students comes more clubs that students can be involved in. And obviously more staff, more faculty. So just more people in general.

Q: So after coming from all those schools, why did you decide on BHS over a different school in the area?

The commute was a big thing. I was driving for an hour just one way to work, and I wanted something closer. And I saw the opening here at Barrington and I knew this was a great community for me. I grew up in Palatine. I sent my application, and it was a good match. And you know, it’s nice to get that time back from being in the car for two hours a day to now driving only 30 minutes a day. Definitely a game changer.

Q: What has been your most memorable moment so far in this school year?

Probably just the first day of school. Students are always nervous and the teachers are also super nervous to meet all the new kids. So I think it was just nice to be back for the regular school year. Especially with COVID and e-learning last year. Yeah, e-learning was not fun. But I think just to be back into more normal things, like not being on Zoom and things like that, it’s gonna be more of a normal year, which I am definitely more excited for.

Q: What are you looking forward to in the next years to come at BHS?

Probably just getting acclimated with the school and like getting involved. It’s something I have been looking forward to because there are so many clubs and activities here. Just meeting students outside of the classroom is something I enjoy and seeing them do something they love to do. So just hoping that down the road I can get more involved with clubs and sports in the next years here at Barrington.

Q: When you were younger, did you have any other hobbies? Or any sports or clubs that you were in?

I danced when I was little, I started that probably when I was seven years old. And then I did dance in junior high. I was on the Poms team there, and also I did a club at college, the dance club there. And then I coached Poms when I was at Libertyville High School. So that was my hobby when growing up and I still like to get active in dance sometimes.