Following Her Passion for English Ms. Anna Hooker Joins the La Salle Staff
Before coming to La Salle Ms. Hooker had many jobs such as working for a social justice based non-profit, teaching at Edison High School in Huntington Beach, California, and as the “typical broke graduate student” also worked at Starbucks.
October 26, 2022
La Salle welcomed several new members to the community at the start of this school year. This story is one of a series of profiles highlighting these people.
“I love English,” new English teacher Ms. Anna Hooker said. “I always enjoyed it in high school, [and] I felt like a nerd when I would go home and tell my mom I enjoyed reading Shakespeare.”
Ms. Hooker is now teaching English 1 and 2 and English 1 and 2 Essentials at La Salle.
Although Ms. Hooker did not always want to be a teacher, as she was originally studying sociology, she eventually decided what path she wanted to take in college after a professor recommended she teach English.
“I was intimidated to be a literature major at first because I didn’t think I had it in me or I was smart enough, but it was a lot of fun,” Ms. Hooker said.
Ms. Hooker received her undergraduate degrees from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego and her master’s from the University of Southern California. Ms. Hooker also grew up in California, living in Orange County, San Diego, and Los Angeles. “So I joke with people [that] I’m just making my way further north, eventually [I’ll] be in Canada,” she said.
During her first month at La Salle, Ms. Hooker was pleasantly surprised by the inclusive community the school has presented “not only in welcoming me, but within classes watching students work together,” she said. “I’ve seen them embrace working with their peers, and that is so cool because I know it can be scary to work with people you don’t know.”
In addition to the inclusive atmosphere, Ms. Hooker has also enjoyed the positivity teachers and students bring to school each day. “It’s not one of those places where people are like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to be at work,’” she said. “I’ve never heard that here.”
Ms. Hooker also notes that the transition to La Salle has been wonderful.
“The fellow teachers in the English Department have been really great in making sure I’m supported with resources,” Ms. Hooker said. “They have been willing to stop and help me do some of those things that I just have not been able to do on my own.”
Fortunately for Ms. Hooker, the only challenges she has had to face so far are the occasional technical difficulties and managing grading assignments.
Looking towards the future, Ms. Hooker hopes to get better at her practice and do what she can to make the subject interesting and relevant to all students.
