Athletic and enthusiastic, Ms. Wendy Anderson has dedicated 5 years to teaching English IV and coaching at Miami High.

Teacher at Miami High School

Ms. Anderson, who arrived at Miami High in August of 2013, said that her favorite part of the job is all the wonderful students that she gets to interact with every day. She loves the spirit and dedication the students have.

“I expect my students to come to class and leave their senior year feeling like they learned something great about Shakespeare and that overall they enjoyed the experience,” she said.

Besides the bond she has with students, one of the reasons she likes teaching at Miami High is because “Miami High chose me,” giving her the opportunity to teach English IV. She added that it was a very lucky situation for her and one of the best decisions that ever happened to her. “I couldn’t be happier,” she said.

On the other hand, the worst part for her is to get up so early to get to school, “but working here is worth every sacrifice,” she said.

One of the most important lessons she would like to teach her students is to never give up and go for what it is that you really want to do. She wants all Stingarees to never think you can’t succeed in what you believe in. “Everything you put your mind to, you can do it,” she said. “Nothing is ever too big; don’t dare to not dream.”

Coaching

Ms. Anderson has been playing soccer since she was 6 years old and always wanted to coach her own team. “To be able to have that dream come true after putting my mind into it is amazing,” she said.

However, she explained that the worst part of coaching is not getting all the commitment that you need and the dedication you want to see.

She has been coaching girls soccer at Miami High since 2016 and Cross Country since 2014. But she hasn’t only coached at Miami High; she coached Cross Country at Miami Springs for 1 year.

Sports have been central in her career choices. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and sports management from Florida State University. She also did a master’s degree in sports administration at St. Thomas University.

Her first job was a lifeguard at Miami Springs Pool, and during her college experience she was a server at a restaurant. Her favorite memory from being an athlete in high school is winning districts in soccer 3 times.

 Life Outside of School

She grew up in Miami Springs, where she attended Miami Springs Elementary and Miami Springs High School. She was an honors student and graduated from high school with a 3.7 grade-point-average. She also was in journalism for 4 years and was a member of the swimming, soccer, and water polo teams.

Teaching was not her first career, she also worked in the service industry for 12 years. She worked for Monty’s Restaurant where interacting with people from different places was the best part of her day. One of the things that she disliked was rude customers.

 Family

Ms. Anderson has two daughters, the oldest one is 4 years old and her youngest is 15 months. She is happily married and in May it will be 9 years. “My proudest achievement is having my family and graduating from Florida State University (FSU),” she said.

“Like everyone knows, I love to go to Disney,” she said. When she is not in the Magic Kingdom, she likes to go to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire with her whole family. She spends her weekends doing recreational activities with her kids such as drinking tea, swimming in the pool, and playing soccer. “I also enjoy CrossFit,” she said.