A closer look at one of Oakland Mills High School’s new educators.

Among the thirty-two staff members joining us at OMHS this year, Dr. Susan Shim comes to the community with glee and high expectations. Returning from a three-year hiatus of caring for her family, Dr. Shim has had a wonderful time embracing the campus and those who populate it. Dr. Shim’s desire to teach about American government has always been a go-to career for her, one she is very passionate about. The history of how our nation came to be and what has changed has always intrigued her.

  Not only is Dr. Shim passionate about teaching American government but she is also a mathematics enthusiast. Based on the positive influence of her past teachers, she was inspired by the subjects and their teaching. Her past teachers were role models and were important factors in guiding her to where she is today. Dr. Shim is no novice to teaching, but rather the opposite. Prior to her recent arrival, she taught college-level courses at Johnson C. Smith University for five years, paused teaching for three years, then returned to work at Mt. Hebron School and Howard High School for 1 year in Howard County. Growing up locally in Ellicott City, she acquired an education in Centennial High School, and then graduated with government & politics degrees from the University of Maryland. 

Dr. Shim’s ability to take on complicated challenges is one of her most noteworthy strengths, never backing down from difficulties. For her, life consists of breaking barriers and overcoming obstacles; you cannot live a pure life without hurdles blocking your path. From her student’s standpoint, they recall that she tends to get nit-picky when identifying errors that need to be corrected to improve upon their understanding. “I would never criticize a student for having a certain opinion, but if they are spelling something wrong, I’m going to point it out to them because that’s not a criticism, it’s a correction,” Ms. Shim said.

A fun fact about her is that she is originally from  Korea, though she has lived most of her life in the U.S. Immigrating with just a fraction of her family, she had to make do with what she had. After time, Dr. Shim was able to find and embrace new communities which was what she wanted when she was younger.

When not at school, Dr. Shim enjoys reading novels, especially works of fiction, cooking and eating meals, and watching television in her free time. Dr. Shim is bilingual in Korean and English, as she picked up a new language fast when transferring countries. After asking her for advice to young adults in the future, she said: “Do what you love, work hard; even when no one’s watching or grading, work hard.” 

If you recognize her on school grounds, a kind, welcoming gesture would be greatly appreciated. And to those struggling to find their way, remember Dr. Shim’s guidance: focus on your own ethics because you won’t be given a score on how you live.