Masuk Free Press

Going into Masuk High School to teach after a long 4 years as a student can seem nostalgic, but now you’re not the one that is using the lockers; you’re writing lesson plans. For some staff, it seems like teachers currently still there have “seen” former students grow up and now they’re coming back as co-workers? What a change!

For alumni teachers, coming back into the classrooms that they sat in as a student is like a chance to remember the past and inspire the future. Masuk has changed over the last 30 years, including who’s writing the lessons.

Teachers like Marissa Esteves (Class of 2001)  and Derek Flynn (Class of 2008) recall coming back to Masuk as teachers. Esteves was on the swim team for her freshman year, and the cheerleading team sophomore through senior year, acting as senior cheer captain. Now she has come back as the Assistant Cheer Coach for Masuk Varsity and Unified Cheer teams, aside from being a special education teacher.

Flynn played varsity lacrosse for four years at Masuk; starting in 2005 and ending in 2008 and later played lacrosse for 2 years at Quinnipiac University (2008-2010) 2 years playing lacrosse for UCONN (2011-2012) and later was Masuk’s former head lacrosse coach.

“I liked coming back and seeing the teachers that I had. I liked to see the new additions that were made to the school and the things that stayed the same,” Esteves said. “I had Mr. Manelli for History and Mrs. Buturla for American Literature, Mr. Franco for Math, and Mr. Kobza for Psychology.”

“I had Mr. Hourigan for Physics and I really enjoyed the class. I had Mr. Overcash for 7th grade science, I had Mr. Franco for Algebra II, math was my favorite subject. I had Mr. Lopuch for UCONN Biology my senior year. I liked it, it was fun, it was the first period of the day and we would guess what was in his smoothie.” Flynn said.

“I had a good educational experience and a lot of positive memories from learning here and being able to do the same thing for other students. It’s something I liked about coming back.” Flynn said. 

“I remember Mrs. Buturla being someone I could go to if I needed help or to talk. I remember actually understanding math the way Mr. Franco taught it. I remember Mr. Manelli’s comforting words during Columbine and Mr. Kobza’s Psychology class being one of my favorite senior electives at Masuk.”  Esteves said. 

Conversely, teachers who are not Masuk alumni enjoy seeing their former students become their co-workers. It can sometimes seem like a true case of deja vu, remembering a time when they were once teaching someone who is now working with them. Like Esteves and Flynn, the number of former students coming back to Masuk to teach is increasing.

One of the biggest challenges is that former students who come back and teach with their former teachers begin to learn to move away from the honorifics of “Mr, Mrs, Ms, or Miss” and go straight to calling their co-workers (who was once their teacher) by their first name. That can be a challenge for alumni teachers who come back: it isn’t always easy.

Alumni teachers can also remember the building itself being different.  A major renovation in 2004 added 13 new classrooms in what is now the STEM Academy, a commercial kitchen for culinary studies,  an expanded cafeteria, and an auditorium that increased in size and technology. It also got rid of the “pit” in the middle of the library. 

So today, Masuk teachers who walked these halls as students can feel a sense of nostalgia, seeing the building “so different” from what it was before, and a sense of pride, inspiring Masuk’s future for years to come.  Current students, years from now, may some day trade their lockers for lesson plans. 

Do you think it might be you? 

Fun Fact: Masuk Cheerleading’s 2001 uniforms (as shown in cover and stunt photo) were reused by the Jockey Hollow Drama Club during their 2022 spring musical, High School Musical Jr. Because it did not make sense for “M-H-S” on the uniform, the letters were taken off and replaced with a temporary “E-H-S,” representing the setting of the musical. When the show was complete, all of the uniforms were returned to their original state.