Even though she may consider herself to be boring,  there is a whole other fascinating side to Dr. Meyer that she doesn’t usually get to share with her students. Once you ask her, she loves to talk about her “secret life” in New York City. A Brooklyn native, she still considers the city a part of her identity. Her favorite things about living there were the art, culture, and energy of all the people. 

She taught in a couple of Catholic schools in Brooklyn and a public school in Long Island before moving out of the city to Montclair. She then got a job at VHS and has been an English teacher here since 1998.

“If I could still be a student I would be,” Dr. Meyer said nostalgically. She went to NYU for her bachelors and masters,  then ended up at CUNY Graduate Center where she got her PhD in English earning her the title of “doctor.” She completed her doctorate after 15 years by going to night school while still teaching and raising three children. This truly shows her dedication to “unlocking secrets” of the beauty of literature through learning.

Her dissertation itself took four years, writing about Henry James’ book “The Ambassadors.”  James is a 19th century intellectual writer with extremely dense, sophisticated language, so Dr. Meyer wrote about how he conveyed information through ways other than just words. The work is extremely tough, Dr. Meyer said that it is “hard to do unless you really love what you’re doing.”

“She is so wholesome and honestly does the best job teaching because you can tell she enjoys it.” said Bridget Lonsinger, a junior in Dr. Meyer’s AP Lang class.

Truly an expert in her craft, it is no surprise that she is good at word games. Lately Dr. Meyer said she has started every morning by completing the daily Wordle, and after the school day has ended she does a crossword puzzle. In between she plays online Scrabble with her family and friends. When not teaching or playing word games, she can be found running clubs such as Avant Garde or Girls Learn International.

“If you made one person’s day a little bit nicer then you are a success,” Dr. Meyer said, quoting the high school English teacher that inspired her to become a teacher. She strives to forge connections with her students, which was something she missed when school was virtual.

“This year was new again, there was an energy being back,” she said.  “The past virtual school year was tough, especially for English teachers who would not otherwise use much technology in their lessons.”

An avid reader, you can always go to her for some book recommendations. Dr. Meyer says books have always been in her life, and she loves to read and talk about books. She is currently recently finished “A Calling for Charlie Barnes,”  recommended to her by fellow English teacher, Mr. White.

Dr. Meyer doesn’t only know how to juggle the responsibilities of being a great teacher; a little known fact about her is that she can actually juggle, enjoying the “absolute concentration.”

Dr. Meyer truly loves Verona High School, and considers herself very lucky to be in a place with a real sense of community.