Mrs. Zappia has been teaching for the past 14 years. She has gained experience in teaching multiple grade levels. 

The Struthers High School graduate attended Youngstown State University to major in Visual Arts Education. She also went on to receive her first masters degree from Marygrove University in Elementary Math and her second from Ashland University in Educational Technology.

Zappia was inspired to pursue a career in education because of positive experiences with her past teachers. 

“When I was in the 2nd grade, I had a teacher named Mr. Mistovich. His lessons were always so fun; he would let us make messes and figure things out on our own. In high school, Mr. Griffin was the same way. He would let us try and fail, but eventually we could succeed. I knew that I wanted to give students that same opportunity,” says the junior class advisor. 

Along with becoming an Art teacher, Zappia is involved in many other aspects of the high school. She is the club advisor for both Pep Club and Art Squad, the department head for specialists, the SEA Vice President, and a mentor teacher to Mrs. Saunders who teaches at the elementary and middle school. 

The college graduate has also taken on the responsibility of being a junior class advisor. With this, Zappia is heavily involved in prom preparations. 

“I wanted to become an advisor partly because I enjoy attending and throwing parties. It is fun to pick a theme and then make it come to life. I enjoy working with our junior class officers and working out ideas,” says the educator. 

The mentor teacher also enjoys seeing students experience prom and view all of the decor for the first time. Her favorite part is witnessing the students’ reactions. 

There is a lot of production that goes on in order to create the perfect atmosphere for Prom. 

“There are so many orders and ideas. We have to buy everything you see–lights, backdrops, props. So most of the work is behind the scenes sourcing and finding items to decorate with,” says Zappia. 

In terms of what she hopes to accomplish in her career, Zappia aspires to get her doctorate in education one day. She would also like to open her own school and write a book with Mrs. Herrholtz. Moreover, the educators want to go on tour and speak at other districts across the country.