Get to Know CCHS Staffulty Member - Abby Kruse

- What subjects and grade levels do you teach?
I teach College Prep and Honors Spanish 1.  About 70% of my students are sophomores, equal parts freshmen and juniors, and exactly 1 senior.

- What is your educational background?
I graduated from Lehman Catholic High School (Sidney, OH) in 2010 and from Bowling Green State University in 2016.  I studied Spanish in college.

- What did you do before joining the CCHS staffulty?
I come with 7 years of elementary/middle school teaching experience.  Most recently, I taught PreK-8 music at St. Patrick of Heatherdowns after 3 years of teaching PreK-8 music at Blessed Sacrament and Regina Coeli schools.  During the summers, I work at the Toledo Zoo.  This year, I got to handle animals!

- What inspired you to become a teacher? 
I credit several of my own dedicated teachers over the years for igniting the spark in me. 

- What made you want to teach at Central Catholic?
Ever since I began teaching up here in Toledo, I've been fascinated and impressed by the enduring effect CCHS has on the greater Toledo area.  I wanted to be part of a tradition over 100 years old, and I'm impressed by the variety of extracurricular opportunities offered for its students.  I've taught elementary and middle school for 7 years, and I've been feeling high school might be my best fit.  Having taught at 3 major feeder schools recently made this transition all the more satisfying.  This place feels like home!  I can't believe I'm lucky enough to keep being a part of the continuing education of young people I care about immensely.

- What are your hobbies or special interests?
I am nuts about reptiles.  I have 5 pet snakes - 3 ball pythons: Noodlebop Linguine, S'mores Snores, and Waffle Rigatoni; and 2 corn snakes: Slinky Orzo and Popcorn Manicotti.  I am active in the Toledo Reptile Expo community, and I'm happy to answer any questions about good snake keeping.  I also love musicals!  Stop by my classroom to see my Playbills wall.

Another passion of mine is Irish dancing.  My goal this year is to get back into taking adult classes, and maybe even competing again!  Toledo hosts 2 Irish Dance competitions a year, which share a weekend in August - the Great Lakes Feis and the Glass City Feis.  It's fun to volunteer and catch up with friends from all over!