Before becoming teachers at West Essex High School, Diane Gray, Suzana Duby, Jody Dolce and Nicola Ruiz pursued completely different career paths. No matter how they got their start or what track brought them to teaching, these staff members exude a passion for teaching like no other. With a multitude of backgrounds and knowledge acquired along the way, there’s no doubt these teachers have a lot to offer. Making the switch to teaching was expected for some and completely unforeseeable for others, yet they all have taken their previous passions and integrated them into the classrooms that they now lead.
Mrs. Dolce:
For Biology teacher Jody Dolce, the term ‘lab’ has had several meanings in her life. Dolce is located in the 500s hallway, teaching and holding labs for both freshmen Biology and AP Biology students. However, years ago, she was assisting in a very different type of lab. She began her career in the sciences as a forensic technician and later assisted with autopsies.
“It was insane,” Dolce said. “It was really like seeing the worst of what one human can do to another. You have to learn how to separate yourself. You can’t look at this person and think they had this family or they had this job or they had this life, and now here they are, and how tragic that is.”
The emotional severity of the role became trying on Dolce, and she decided to switch into the medical public relations field. She worked in the pharmaceutical division of a public relations agency in New York City before earning her Master’s degree and beginning to teach Biology. With all of her experience, West Essex is lucky to have a Biology teacher who can bring her wisdom and expertise to the classroom.
“All of my experiences have made me who I am today,” Dolce said. It’s hard to switch careers, but I knew in my gut that those weren’t the right options for me. I knew from the minute I started teaching here that this was the right fit at the right time for me.”
Ms. Ruiz:
Nicola Ruiz now walks the halls of West Essex as a sophomore English teacher, but she once walked them as a West Essex student pursuing theatre. Growing up doing theatre both in and out of school, Ruiz grew fond of performing in both plays and musicals. Specifically, she recalls one of her favorite performances as “Romeo and Juliet,” in which she played Juliet. Ultimately, when it came time to pursue this career path in college, she applied as a declared theatre major, hoping to continue her career on stage.
“It was kind of funny, because my mom was like, ‘Are you sure?’” Ruiz said. “‘Are you sure? It’s not a stable career?’ But my father was very supportive. So I was like, no, it’s what I want to do.”
A few months into college, she said her priorities had changed and decided to switch her major and pursue a job that better aligned with her desires and goals. While holding on to her strong love of performing, Ruiz decided that English education seemed like the right path for her. Although she chose to shift away from her musical theatre background, it found its way back to her through teaching.
“Teaching is kind of like an acting job,” Ruiz said. “I feel like, even if my kids have the flu and I’m exhausted, I still have to come in and perform for them. So I feel like my musical theatre background helps just by being able to present and teach. I also love routine and stability. And I feel like if I had gone off and just been on that actress trajectory, I wouldn’t have that stability.”
Mrs. Gray:
Before teaching freshman English, Diane Gray broke the stigma that women were less qualified to work in business than men. Following her high school years, opportunities for women in business were just beginning to arise, and Gray decided she wanted to pursue that path. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Pennsylvania State University, Gray went on to pursue business on Wall Street, working at the New York Times in the marketing and advertising department.
“It was fantastic,” Gray said. “It was the perfect place to work. I was out of college, working with people, and in a great environment. There were just so many aspects of it that it was the perfect job for that part of my life.”
Gray loved the job and took away many valuable lessons from working there. When Gray and her husband decided to start a family, they realized it made more sense for her to be home, so she quit her job. After spending some time at home, she determined that there was another passion of hers that she hadn’t yet explored, teaching.
“I fell back on my second real, very strong desire, which was to be a teacher,” Gray said. “It was something I always wanted to do, even when I was a kid. I loved school and teachers. So I decided to go back and get a teaching degree.”
Now, Gray is fulfilling her childhood dream of teaching. She expects a lot from her students, she is always there to lend a helping hand. Her time working at the NYT has contributed to her running an organized, well-developed classroom that she could only have dreamed of as a child.
Mrs. Duby:
Before entering the world of teaching various AP courses at West Essex, Suzana Duby briefly paused her career to pursue her interest in practicing law. Early in her teaching career, Duby won the Governor’s Teaching Scholarship, which required her to teach for several years. After fulfilling the requirements of teaching in Newark and Maplewood, she decided that law was something she was passionate about and wanted to explore what that career path could look like.
“I was very curious and young,” Duby said. “I was 21 when I started teaching and earned my master’s degree by 24. I think I was just kind of feeling it out and saying, ‘Well, can I do it?’ I had a lot of friends becoming attorneys, and I wanted to give it a try, so I did.”
Duby listened to her instincts and followed the path to Rutgers University Law School, where she earned her law degree. After practicing law for 16 years, she became a corporate counsel at a public trading company. From there, she felt she wanted to pursue something more meaningful that fit her life at the time, so she went back to teaching. Being in law helped Duby create an organized environment for her students to excel. Knowing how to establish an argument and make claims encouraged her to teach these rigorous courses. Her students both recognize and appreciate the immense amount of effort and experience Duby puts into her classes.
