September Teacher Feature: Ms. Maggie Condon

Sep 6

Sep 6 September Teacher Feature: Ms. Maggie Condon

Photos submitted by Ms. Condon.

Evan Rosenau

This month’s teacher feature is someone who encourages each and every student to express themselves, and has shared so much of herself with us that even choir students might learn a thing or two about Hamilton’s Show Choir Coach. This month’s teacher feature is Ms. Maggie Condon, better known as MC. MC also serves as the advisor for GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance), a club where LBGTQ+ students and allies gather to discuss queer issues and find a community at Hamilton. (Stop by the choir room for more information!) This is MC’s fourteenth year teaching and her third here at Hamilton. She received her undergraduate degree from UW-Milwaukee and her master’s from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. MC has countless hobbies and a huge family. She’s the youngest of five with over thirty first cousins and loves coffee, cats, and plants. What some may not know is MC can hang glide! She did this first at the age of twelve and flew solo in college, which she did just outside of Chattanooga, TN for an entire summer.

Read on to learn more about our whimsical, cat loving choir teacher:

What song do you know all the lyrics to?

“American Pie,” lol. As well as every Beatles or Sara Barielles song.

Describe yourself in one sentence.

She is messy but she’s kind. ;)

What superpower would you like to have?

I wish I could teleport. I love to travel, but hate the getting there.

If you won 100 million dollars what would you buy first?

A coffeehouse/theatre/bookstore that is also a cat rescue that has a greenhouse in the back. But I haven’t thought that much about it…

What’s your claim to fame?

I went to college with Trixie Mattel and she follows me on instagram. IYKYK ;)

What do you hope never changes?

I think change is good, I’m not afraid of it. I just hope to keep growing and changing in positive ways.

What would your perfect room/ classroom look like?

I would love to have a room with windows so I can actually have live plants in my classroom. In 14 years of teaching I have never had a choir room with windows…. It would also be nice to have walls that things stick to, so that my posters and decorations aren’t constantly falling down.

What skill would you like to master?

Ironically, I am pretty bad at playing the piano… so it would be nice if I could master that! Lol

If you could meet anyone in history who would it be and why?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was one of the great minds of her generation and did so much for women’s rights in this country. I would just like to thank her for all her work.

What book or movie would you recommend to your students?

I love the author Brene Brown and Daring Greatly is one of my favorite books. Movie…that’s a harder one… I would say Lilo and Stitch as that’s my favorite Disney movie.

What is the weirdest thing you have done to get your students attention?

Not necessarily to get their attention, but I did make a bet with Synergy last year that if they won Grand Champions I would shave my head….well, they won Grand Champs and I am a woman of my word, so I let each senior cut a chunk of my hair and then buzz it, so now I have an undercut.

What is the best advice you have received?

Just be your weird little self, and the right people will find you. Don’t worry about “fitting in” or being popular–just find what you are passionate about and do that thing to the best of your ability.