This school year West Catholic was thrilled to welcome back a familiar face and wonderfully gifted English teacher—Mrs. Stacey Danevicz! In 2016, Mrs. Danevicz made the challenging decision to step away from full-time teaching at West to invest in more family time and attend to personal circumstances. During her time away, she continued teaching and subbing in various capacities and at many different age levels. She said, “My recent job as an office manager and paralegal put me in contact with young adults and with clients’ children on a regular basis, and the longer I was there, the more I realized how much I missed teaching.” Danevicz continued, “I was thrilled to hear there was an opening at West Catholic, and am so happy to be back where it feels like I’ve come home again.”
Though she grew up in Iowa, Mrs. Danevicz loves embracing Midwest life in Michigan with her family. They enjoy fall color tours, cottage vacations at Diamond Lake, and celebratory traditions like Pulaski Days. Family downtime usually consists of hanging out at home and laughing over beloved sitcom reruns alongside Lola, their labrador mix.
You don’t need to know Mrs. Danevicz for very long to recognize her passion for teaching which is rooted in a deep love of educating young people, reading and writing. “There’s so much I enjoy about teaching,” she remarked. “I love working with young people because it’s a chance to see the ways in which human beings change and also stay the same as generations evolve.” She noted that while times may change, truths such as those found in the works of Shakespeare persist through the ages. “[His] words may sound like another language, but what he portrays in his plays are human experiences and emotions that we still experience today. I’m pretty sure I’m able to convince at least some of my students of the relevance,” Danevicz smiled.
Another invaluable asset Mrs. Danevicz brings to West is her talent for fostering quality writing skills in her students. “I love helping students find and amplify their voices. I truly want to hear what they have to say,” she said. For her, writing is also a personal passion. Publishing a book—or ten!—is at the top of her bucket list. Her imagination and creativity also show themselves in the dynamic projects her classes work on throughout the year. The Falcon community is all the richer to have Mrs. Stacey Danevicz back in the nest!
