Walking into TeNesha Ukomadu’s classroom, the first thing you see is her greeting you at the door during the passing period. The second thing you see is the contrast of the illumination of overhead lights and soft glow of the hanging string lights and lamps, creating a relaxing atmosphere for her students. The walls are filled with inspirational posters and the students’ desks are all facing each other to promote discussion.

Ukomadu teaches Freshman English, Sophomore English and Black and African American Voices Literature. Since starting at Niles West this school year, she’s been engrossed in her classes. 

Ukomadu provided insight into how it feels to be a new teacher at a new school.

“Believe it or not, teachers, when they go to a new school, they’re super nervous like students, because [they] don’t know what to expect. You don’t know how other teachers are gonna accept you. You don’t know what kind of classes you’re gonna have. So it’s kind of like being a new kid at school,” Ukomadu said.

Ukomadu grew up in Alabama and taught in Atlanta after moving there for graduate school. After relocating due to her husband’s new job, Ukomadu found her way in Chicago. She then explored different teaching opportunities, such as being a mentor teacher and an English and history teacher for sixth and seventh graders. 

Then, she found an opportunity to work at the sixty-seven-year-old Skokie high school, Niles West. 

“I went through—I guess you could say—a mid-career crisis. I’d been teaching for over ten years, and I was like, ‘I want to do something else.’ So I started trying to feel out the workforce and didn’t really find anything that interested me. And somehow I got lucky enough to end up at Niles West,” Ukomadu said.

 Ukomadu strives to help her freshman classes be prepared for high school and the real world. She has a very relax classroom energy, but she hopes for everyone to be successful.

“What I’m finding with freshmen is it’s a lot of getting into the routine of high school. Because in middle school, everything was like, ‘You gotta ask to do this, you gotta raise your hand to do that.’ And I’m trying to prepare you guys for the real world. You’re not gonna ask your boss, ‘Can I go to the bathroom?’ That’d be weird,” Ukomadu said.

Some of Ukomadu’s Freshman English students provided insight about her class. 

“I feel like [the classroom] is very inclusive. She has a very casual environment, which I think is very helpful to belong to that class. And, I think the relaxed environment just really helps the mood in general,” freshman Simra Mohiuddin said.

Ukomadu’s classroom has been described as having a laid-back atmosphere that seems to be naturally charming and alluring all at once.

“I think her class structure is really good, and I like her as a teacher. I think she brings a very chill environment,” freshman Gio Micor said.

Ukomadu is ready to help students learn, strive to push them to their limits and beyond, and be a full-fledged member of the Wolf Pack.