Journalism teacher Deana Colón says she loves teaching because every day is different.

South High School journalism teacher Deana Colón said she is inspired by all her students and learns something new from them every day.

“Students have valuable ideas that help me learn more things and see from different perspectives,” she said.

Colón added that there is always something new every day. “No two days are the same,” she said. Before she became a teacher, she was a journalist. After her time as a journalist, she went back to college to become a teacher.

“For me, I always knew I wanted to become a teacher or a journalist,” Colón said. It was natural for her since she liked reading, writing and being creative.

For years, Colón has loved horror movies. “Ever since I was little, I loved being scared. I loved watching Scooby-Doo as a kid.”

Watching scary movies helps Colón relax and decompress. She loves horror movies, and all her family knows. “My mom thinks it’s so weird,” she said.

Colón’s advice to graduating students is to be open to learning 24/7. She thinks it’s important to have an open mind every day and try your best. “A successful person always has an open mind. Even if you don’t like a subject, embrace it as best you can. It will be helpful to you in the future,” Colón said.

One thing Colón did that she will always remember as a success was interviewing a Bigfoot expert. This was during her time as a journalist. It was odd, but she was assigned the story by her editor.

“I interviewed a Bigfoot expert in northeast Ohio. I learned that where I lived was a hotbed of Bigfoot activity,” Colón said.

One of Colón’s biggest challenges was losing a lot of weight. “At one point I lost 80 pounds,” she said. Colón turned her life around and started exercising and following a proper diet.

Some of Colón’s role models are her mom and Madonna. “My mom keeps her sense of humor no matter what, and Madonna goes her own way and doesn’t care what others think,” she said.