Alumna thrives after career switch

One of the qualities of having a liberal arts education is being able to learn new things successfully and thrive in changing situations. Like most Marietta College alumni, Jessica Penny Guerrero ’13 knows this to be true because she’s living it.

One month after graduating from Marietta with degrees in International Leadership Studies and Spanish, Jessica began working in the corporate sector for an international education company based in Austin, Texas. Though she was successful and enjoyed traveling internationally for her work, Jessica’s mind was being pulled in another direction.

“My time at Marietta was very formative,” she says. “I had gotten my Teaching English (as a Foreign Language) Certificate through Dr. (Janie) Rees-Miller and I had always had the plan of teaching, but the corporate world called me first and so I worked for a study abroad company for about seven years traveling the world, recruiting students to study abroad. I studied abroad in Spain and later taught English in Brazil during my time in undergrad, so it was really important for me for students to have international experiences.”

She also took a lot of history courses and admired how Dr. Katy McDaniel taught World History.

For Jessica, teaching was always in the back of her mind, so when a position at an Austin charter school was presented to her, she took a chance. Her first shot at teaching was in a third grade reading class for the 2019-2020 school year. In 2021, she moved into a position that better fit her passion: a 10^th grade AP History teacher. That year, she won Teacher of the Year at her charter school and was also nominated for the entire district.

“One of the reasons why I was nominated for and won Teacher of the Year — was that I prioritized a project-based classroom …  getting students out of their textbooks, and giving students an inquiry-based learning experience where you have a central question and it’s their responsibility to do the research that goes into answering that question.”

The year before she started teaching AP World History, only one student passed the AP exam. After her first year teaching it, she had 11 students pass. She credits her professors at Marietta for teaching and mentoring her throughout her four years.

“I actually went through some of my notes from my history classes in college and I was like, wow (Professor McDaniel) really taught me the foundational knowledge and all these fun facts that I now share with my students. I sent her a message and I knew that she was going to respond. That’s just the way Marietta professors are. There's a very special group of people that work there.”

McDaniel encouraged Jessica to pursue Phi Beta Kappa, which she achieved. Jessica also benefitted from a close-knit Modern Languages Department, namely Dr. Richard Danford, now Vice President for Student Life and Diversity, and Dr. Janie Rees-Miller, now a Professor Emerita of Linguistics.

“Dr. Danford was a huge role model to me. I remember talking to him and Dr. (Janie) Rees-Miller when I was applying for jobs. They both were actually on my senior honors thesis committee. They really took me under their wings,” she says.

Though her time at IDEA Bluff Springs College Prep in Austin is still relatively new, Jessica is confident that she will make a positive impact on her students’ understanding of history, as well as in their lives.

“Honestly, going to a liberal arts school really prepares you to pivot into any sort of career. People change careers, and having that liberal arts education truly does prepare you for whatever life may bring and whatever opportunities you may want to shoot for.”