Every teacher at West Essex has their own unique personality and hobbies, inside and outside of school. Melissa Ayers-Lapuzzo loves to calculate the hardest math problems, but outside of the classroom, it’s not just math 24/7.

Q: What subjects do you teach?

A: Precalc and Calc

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: 6 years

Q: Have you always wanted to teach math?

A: I started as a music major then decided I didn’t want to do music as a job. My high school math teacher said that if music doesn’t work out then I should definitely go to math.

Q: What do you like to do outside of school?

A: I’m a group fitness instructor and musician. I play the sax and flute, sing church choir and also love to bake.

Q: What’s a fun fact about you?

A: I graduated in the top one percent of my high school class (8 out of 800).

Q: Who inspires you the most?

A: My mom inspires me the most. She was a teacher for 40 years and inspired me to be a teacher.

Q: What advice would you give to a new teacher?

A: Make sure you have fun in your classes and be able to talk to your students.