Bellefonte High’s students love Spanish teacher Mrs. Victoria Smith due to her fun and caring nature. She loves to spend time with her kids and husband, exercise, read, and travel. She has a kind heart that touches many students.
Mrs. Smith attended Slippery Rock University for an undergraduate degree in Secondary Education, Spanish. She also attended California University of Pennsylvania where she earned a masters degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages). Mrs. Smith teaches Spanish levels one and three at Bellefonte High, and has been teaching in the district for 15 years. Along with teaching Spanish, she taught ESL (English as a Second Language) in middle and high school. Mrs. Smith also ran the BeLA program for a year.
Mrs. Smith’s favorite thing about teaching Spanish is the opportunities it provides. It is very important to learn other languages, and she enjoys getting the honor of teaching it.
“What I love most about teaching Spanish is the opportunity it provides to cultivate globally minded students by opening their eyes to new perspectives and ways of life. I love the Spanish language and culture and sharing it with others is a passion of mine. However, I like to think that aside from teaching the language I’m also helping to build more empathetic, open-minded, and curious students. I would say my ultimate goal is to shape students into more informed and compassionate global citizens,” Mrs. Smith said.
With teaching at both the middle and high school, Mrs. Smith has made many memories that she will cherish in her heart.
“I have so many wonderful memories from the last 15 years that I honestly don’t think I can pick just one. Traveling abroad with students to Spain and France in June of 2016 was pretty special though. I also really loved my experience being a class advisor for the Class of 2023. It was a chaotic year but it was full of really fun and special memories,” she said.
Profe, Ms. Emily Zimdahl-McManus, teaches Spanish along with Mrs. Smith. She has been teaching with her for the past 11 years and likes to call her her “work bestie.”
“She has great style and is always giving me outfit and style advice. I think our relationship is best described as co-parents to our Spanish students. We balance each other out and are each other’s ying to the yang. She brings some levity to our department when emotions might get high,” Profe said.
She touches many hearts of students and motivates them to the best they can. Senior Josh Brown is one of the many students who has been inspired by Mrs. Smith.
“Mrs. Smith is one of the most upbeat and motivational teachers I’ve ever had. She always wants the best for students in and out of class,” Josh said.
Mrs. Smith looks forward to attending the Spain, France, and Italy tour in June of 2025. She also looks forward to teaching her kids when they are older.
