Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of 10 stories in celebration of International Week.

Social Studies teacher Mrs. Angela Tzortzis is one of the fan favorites here at Niles West High School. She most definitely has a passion for teaching, but something else she feels quite passionate about is her culture.

“Being Greek plays a huge role in my life. Part of it is because I married a Greek but there’s so much more to it than that. My parents are fresh out of Europe and so are my in-laws. My family sticks to typical Greek traditions like Sunday family dinners, going to church, and celebrating people’s Names Day,” Tzortzis said.

Tzortzis is first generation, so for her, knowing how to speak the language is pretty essential.

“Growing up my parents spoke english but were much more fluent in Greek. I didn’t really have a choice but to learn the language because it was spoken around my house all of the time. I feel like it is so important to understand Greek because of the traveling, mainly. Every year my husband and I take our children to Greece and English isn’t necessarily everyones first language. My kids are enrolled in Greek School now to not only learn the language, but to stay in touch with their heritage because knowing where you come from is very important in my eyes,” Tzortzis said.

Her farther is from a city in the middle of southern Greece called ‘Tripoli’.

“My father didn’t see the ocean until he was 18 years old. And the only reason he even saw it then was because he was going to the army. My mother on the other hand grew up with the ocean in her backyard. She lived in a village called Gyrthrio and it’s just about as southern as you can get right on the Mediterranean. I bring this up because things were most obviously so incredibly different. In my parents time, you never really left your home town,” she said.

Her parents still own a house in Gyrthrio so Tzortzis and her family visit every summer and stay there.

“The most important thing that my culture has taught me though is that hard work pays off. Watching my immigrant parents, my family back in Greece even, nothing ever came easy. Looking back, each and every one of my relatives had a comfortable life but by no means was it ever just ‘handed to them’. Every last one had a hard work ethic because of where they came from and that’s all I really want to teach my kids,” Tzortzis said.

Being Greek has taught not only her, but her children too, good values, especially by remembering where their grandparents came from.

“I only want what’s best for my family and I really believe that teaching my children what it’s about to be Greek, and the struggles their ancestors faced to get to where they are now, will only help them grow in the long run. Every single day I thank my homeland and I couldn’t be more proud knowing where I came from; I just hope that one day my kids see it the same way that I do,” Tzortzis said