Lafayette Spotlight: Saskia Woodrum

Meet our new German Language teacher, Saskia Woodrum!

Q: What do you do/teach here?

A: I am the long-term substitute teacher for German and currently teach levels 1-4.

Q: Why did you come to LHS and how many years have you been here?

A: This is my first year at LHS. My mom, Karin Woodrum, has been LHS’s German teacher for 13 years, until this 2022-23 academic year. She was diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer in June of 2022, and we all agreed it was in her best interest to take a year of medical leave to focus on treatment and self-care.

Q: What college did you go to?

A: I attended George Mason University where I majored in Operations Management and Information Systems.

Q: Why did you decide to teach?

A: It certainly was a spontaneous decision born out of love. Anyone who knows my mom, the original Frau Woodrum, knows how much her students, the German program at LHS, as well as sharing the German language and culture matter to her. She’s great at building relationships with her students and delivering very thought-out, tailored lessons to support their learning. Having even experienced that myself as her student and student teacher assistant during my time in our high school, I just felt compelled to try and continue that for her. This is my first-year teaching, so I am still actively learning as an educator, but I strive to one day be the teacher she was.

Q: What do you love about your job?

A: I love sharing the joy of learning a second language, and it makes my day every time I see students grasp the material and enjoy it as well.

Q: What is your ideal vacation?

A: My ideal vacation is somewhere with a balance of things to do or see, as well as having options to just lounge and relax. I would love to visit Germany again, and from there I could easily take day trips to neighboring countries.

Q: What is your favorite joke?

A: I have a hard time choosing a favorite. One of them is, “What do you call an arrogant criminal walking downstairs? – A condescending con descending.”

Q: Cats or dogs?

A: Lean more towards dogs, but that may simply be because I grew up with dogs as pets.

Q: If you could make one change to LHS, what would it be?

A: That I don’t have to fight with a repeatedly interrupted internet connection while I’m trying to work on my school laptop.

Q: What do you do outside of this job?

A: I spend a lot of time with my family, hang out with friends, try my hand at cooking new recipes (with improving degrees of success), and draw.