Silvia Trumbower to retire

After 35 years of teaching, twelfth grade honors English teacher Silvia Trumbower will retire at the end of this school year. She hopes to spend more time with her family, to actively participate in church and volunteer activities and to pursue her interests in gardening, traveling and art history.

Trumbower says her retirement is not spontaneous and had already been scheduled for around this time. "[I] had planned to be financially secure enough," she adds. Trumbower hopes this decision will allow her to participate in activities she previously could not. "I didn't have time to do these things before, but I'm going to do them now." She looks forward to driving cross-country and to taking classes in music appreciation offered by the Smithsonian. "I also have a big garden to take care of," she says. Trumbower would also like to participate in volunteer activities but says she has not yet had a chance to see what is available.

In college, Trumbower was a journalism major but later felt she was not aggressive enough to succeed in the field. Following her father's advice, she pursued a career in teaching English instead. Although she initially planned to teach at Blair for only seven years, Trumbower spent 19 years as a staff member. In her first year at Blair, the twelfth grade honors English curriculum was not well-established, Trumbower recalls, but she helped play a critical role in developing and defining the class.

In addition to teaching English, she used to sponsor the National Honors Society and the English "Boost" program, which later became known as the summer Blast program for freshmen. She also taught an SAT Prep class.

Even though teaching was not her initial career choice, Trumbower has enjoyed her experience. "I hope I've had a positive impact. A lot of kids have come back and told me that they were well-prepared for college," she said. "It's been great."

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