Multiple Writers | On 26, May 2021

By Sofia Gellada & Christine Brioso

In the midst of the highs and lows of the pandemic, Hudson Catholic welcomed a new faculty member for the school year 2020-2021.

Ms. Christina Vyzas graduated from Wesleyan University where she majored in biochemistry and sculpture. Although this was the first time that Ms. Vyzas had taught students during the school year, this was not her first teaching experience. She taught summer school classes at Hudson Catholic in 2019. Also, in college she “was a sculpture teaching assistant and [she] did a science outreach club [she] went into elementary schools and taught science classes.” Her experience and major left her well prepared to teach biology at Hudson and become the director of Hudson Catholic’s Medical Arts Program.

With the three year Medical Arts Program, Ms. Vyzas wanted  “to encourage kids to explore all different medical careers and not just [being] doctors or nurses.” The main goal of the program is to be inclusive for everyone and allow them to gain a better understanding of all the possible  careers within the medical field. In fact, meeting the students enrolled in the Medical Arts Program was one of the things that Ms. Vyzas was looking forward to the most. She was also eager to teach hands-on clinical labs with the school’s recently acquired simulation lab equipment. 

Starting teaching while in the midst of the pandemic would be a daunting experience for anyone.

“I was really nervous because I felt like over the summer, no one knew what the situation was going to be and I knew that I wanted to do a lot of hands on things,” Ms. Vyzas said.

Thankfully, she was soon able to settle into the Hudson Hawk Family. She named Mr. Lou Tati, who helped her with the Medical Arts Program, and Mrs. Lucas-McGady as her go-to people when she had a teaching question. One word to describe Ms. Vyzas’s experience at Hudson Catholic is “impressed.” Ms. Vyzas was impressed at how well the students and staff handled learning in a hybrid situation. She believes that everyone managed to stay strong and did what was necessary to accomplish their goals. 

Unfortunately for Hudson Catholic, Ms. Vyzas will be leaving at the end of the 2020-2021 school year to attend Rutgers Medical School. There, she aspires to volunteer in the student clinic and get involved in improving the health of all communities. Teaching is something Ms. Vyzas is extremely passionate about and hopes to continue teaching in some way, such as joining programs in her medical school that teaches different elementary and high schools about medical topics and health careers.

Though it will be a bittersweet moment for Ms. Vyzas to depart from all her wonderful students, she will continue her love for the medical field at Rutgers as either an oncologist or orthopedist. Ms. Vyzas is still unsure regarding what field she would like to take once she steps foot into medical school. Becoming an orthopedist fascinated Ms. Vyzas due to her numerous bone injuries as a past runner.

Even when Ms. Vyzas is away from Hudson Catholic, she desires to stay in touch with the medical arts program and return as a guest speaker.

An important life lesson Ms. Vyzas wants all her students to remember is this: “Don’t doubt yourselves. As long as you are willing to put in the work then you can do anything.”

Ms. Vyzas has truly made a big impact in  guiding our students to attain the knowledge needed to assist them when they enter the real world.