Ms. Hochmuth shares her experience, journey, hobbies and first impression of OM.

A new teacher has arrived at Oakland Mills High School this school year, and she is already making a strong impression these first few weeks! Ms.Hochmuth has joined staff as an English Language Development (ELD) teacher. She has 5 years of teaching experience, and has a deep passion for culture. She also has an empathetic and engaging style with her students.

Before moving to Oakland Mills, Ms. Hochmuth taught at Mount Hebron High School for 5 years. She was inspired to come to OM by the strong sense of community she had heard about from former colleagues, which is how Ms. H made her decision. “I have heard very good things about the community environment and that it has very strong staff and that students feel connected in the community,” Ms. Hochmuth shared during a recent interview. 

Her first impression of OM confirmed those rumors; upon walking through the halls on her first day, she noticed how students were enthusiastically greeting returning teachers, and enjoying being around each other, which instantly made the school feel like a welcoming environment. 

Ms. Hochmuth’s interest in teaching ELD started from her background and academic interests. Raised bilingual by immigrant parents, she spoke German at home, which sparked an early interest in how people learn languages. She earned a bachelor’s degree in linguistics, followed by a master’s degree in education. In addition to speaking English and German, she has also studied Korean, American Sign Language (ASL), and Spanish. 

At Oakland Mills, Ms. Hochmuth works with students who are immigrants and students whose first language isn’t English to help build their English skills with grammar, reading, and writing lessons. Additionally, she co-teaches Earth and Space Science with Mrs. Woodard, and Biology with Mr. Tijerina to help students with language gaps in academic subjects, and combining patience, compassion, and engagement to help students succeed across academic subjects. 

Outside of teaching, Ms. Hochmuth has a variety of hobbies. Pickleball, gardening, spending time with her 3 cats, and baking sourdough bread are all examples of ways her free time is spent. She’s an eager traveler, and has visited numerous countries across Europe, Central America, and Asia, with Japan being the next on her bucket list. When asked about an ultimate comfort food after a long and exhausting day, she quickly answered “a warm bowl of Japanese curry.” 

Although learning her way around the OM building was a bit challenging at first, Ms. Hochmuth is very positive about the year ahead. “I’m feeling optimistic about it, and I’m feeling very positive about it. I’m working with really good people. My students are awesome. Yeah, I’m feeling awesome about it!” She said, and with dedicated students, great co-teachers, and a very encouraging & strong community, she is very excited for everything that this school year will bring, and looks forward to building a growing classroom this year.