Bryant, Pamela

By Dan Greene

Name: Pamela Bryant
Department: English
Education: Teaneck High School in New Jersey and English Degree from Boston University
Previous Jobs: Englewood HS-NJ, Ridgeview MS-Gaithersburg
Came to Blair: 1999-2000
Hobbies: Traveling, reading

English teacher Pamela Bryant's easygoing nature belies her hardworking attitude. Bryant's dedication and amiability are present in her life and work.

Bryant has loved track all her life and was a dedicated athlete from an early age. However, as there were still gender barriers in athletics when Bryant was in school, she could not pursue her interest. "I couldn't run [competitively] as a kid," Bryant says. "There was no Title IX."

Despite this, Bryant was determined to compete and looked for regional meets wherever she could.

Growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey, Bryant was an "average kid" in high school, working hard at her studies but never excelling academically. A self-professed "late bloomer," Bryant says that she did not fully realize her potential until after college at Boston University. Her degree in English combined with the desire to teach that she had had since childhood, led Bryant into a career in teaching; starting in Englewood, New Jersey. She found she loved it.

Bryant says the most rewarding thing about teaching is helping students get the most from their education and from themselves. "The thing I like best [about teaching] is bringing out the best in students, to give them the confidence to do other things," she says enthusiastically.

Bryant has taught in MCPS for five years, working at Blair for three. As enthusiastic as Bryant is about teaching, she admits that it can be difficult to keep her busy schedule balanced. Bryant says the hardest thing is, "staying in balance, keeping all those balls up in the air."

One ball that Bryant has had to keep in the air is her job as Assistant Coach of the track team. Her love for track has developed into a love for coaching athletes at Blair. Bryant brings the same eagerness and determination to coaching as she does to teaching. Besides the sport itself, the thing Bryant loves most about coaching track is getting to know kids whom she does not teach. "I meet a wide variety of kids, see a whole different side of them," Bryant says with a grin.

Bryant combines an easygoing and friendly nature with dedication and enthusiasm that makes her stand out in her chosen field.