Introducing: Ms. Jude
“We want to spread some awareness and joy, rather than conflict and negativity. And what better start than with a new addition to the community? So, let’s shine some light on Ms. Jude and reveal her true colors.”
As we have started school, we have seen multiple wonderful new faces around our community in many different areas. One of these new faces is the one and only Ms. Jude. Who is she, you may ask? As most of you know, she’s the new Director of the Culture Team, but do you know her for who she is?
In our previous years in Comp Sci High, we’ve overheard some teacher-student complications, even with staff members. Ja’Ziah and I have decided we want to make a change. We want to spread some awareness and joy, rather than conflict and negativity. And what better start than with a new addition to the community? So, let’s shine some light on Ms. Jude and reveal her true colors.
We sat down with Ms. Jude to talk about how she views herself and her job. In that interview she said:
“I've been working in education for a very long time, but a lot of my experience has always been mainly middle school and I've supported a lot of elementary schools and I felt like later on in my years I was connecting with the older students in the middle school.”
If we asked most students what they think of Ms. Jude, they might say that she is a strict staff member, not fun, or other things. There are many other apparent answers that students would give about strict teachers. But that’s what they see professionally; they don’t always see the guidance or shoulder to lean on.
As we went around and interviewed members and students of our community about Ms. Jude, we got a series of responses:
Christian Rojas, a senior, said: “Ms. Jude’s a wonderful person, a great addition to the school. Ms. Jude looks out for what's best for students. She's a very chill person, you can relate to her and you can have fun talking to her.”
Ms. Ortiz, who works in the Main Office, said: “She's very open minded, works well in a team, and knows how to stick to the plan and pivot. She definitely stands on business. And she absolutely loves Brooklyn.”
Susu, student body president, said: “I love Ms. Jude because she reminds me of myself, meaning when she talks she has so much authority, and she gives that IT girl vibe.”
Lauren, a Junior, said: “I felt like she looked mean, but now that I actually know her I can speak to her about anything. She’s really not bad at all, and I feel like she really is understanding. She makes me feel comfortable.”
Ms. Guity, one of the social workers, said: “Ms. Jude is a very dedicated person. She’s hardworking, and she is a strong black woman.”
Ms. Plata, another social worker, said: “Ms. Jude brings great energy. You can tell when she’s presen. She connects well with kids, and she truly cares about our students”
Ms. Estevez, the head of the social work department, said: “Ms. Jude is unapologetic. She is doing great work here. It takes a lot of courage to come here and be new. She is great with connecting with every student. Very genuine, authentic, a great vibe. I love having her as a roommate, and I love that she’s part of the team.”
In our experience, we find Ms. Jude to be very understanding. One of the first ever full conversations we had with her was when we were going through issues, and she literally pulled one of us out of class and had a heart to heart conversation with one of us. She was very patient with that person and understanding. That person didn’t have to hide anything or feel like they had to, because Ms. Jude gave that sense of security that we can express how we feel and not have to hide from her. Not once did she ever make us think we were in the wrong. That's one thing we love about her; she always makes you see two sides of a situation. It would be a misinterpretation to say that she's just only strict. We disagree that she is only strict; she actually has a fun side to her.
When we hear about Ms. Jude being strict, we can’t believe it because of how we connected to her. In our perspectives and others, Ms. Jude is a great addition to the Comp Sci High community.
We have come to the conclusion that Ms. Jude is put into the “strict” category because of how she projects herself when it comes with uniforms and keeping our community together. When we interviewed Ms.Jude she stated: “I want to work on the proactive joy that we have in the community.” She also stated: “I want to do my job so well that my job is no longer needed.”
From this response, we can tell that Ms. Jude is really passionate about her job position and she is here to create change.