Angelina Cicero, Eric Moser, and Rachel Rauch, are names that many students of Homestead High School may recognize as teachers in the English department; however, before teaching together, they were once all students of Hartford Union High School, with their lives reconvening through their shared passion for English.

The teachers’ experiences were varied throughout high school.

“Socially, I enjoyed high school a great deal and made many friends that I still have today. Academically, I enjoyed learning but wasn’t very involved in clubs or teams,” Eric Moser said.

Moser’s experience is in contrast with that of Rachel Rauch, who said, “I did not enjoy high school, which is part of the reason I became a teacher. I wanted to provide an enjoyable experience for students.”

Angelina Cicero however, said she felt “understimulated, it was not nearly as rigorous as Homestead.”

Although the teachers’ overall experience in high school was different, they shared one thing in common.

“I knew I loved English,” Rauch said, a sentiment echoed by both Moser and Cicero.

“Some of my favorite teachers were English teachers, and several of those teachers became my mentors,” Moser explained, and according to Cicero, “I knew I was going to be a teacher before high school. I always loved English and would read at high levels for my grade.”

After high school they went their separate ways, only to be reunited years later in the English department of Homestead.

“My first year out of college, I was filling in for a teacher in Port Washington on maternity leave. The principal of Port Washington at the time knew that my position was only temporary, so he spoke to Mark Roherty (the principal of Homestead at the time) and recommended me for a job here,” Rauch said, the first of the three to come to Homestead.

Cicero was the next to join the Homestead staff.

“I taught at Janesville for six years, but when Jason and I wanted kids after about 10 years of marriage, we moved to be closer to family. I applied to many schools in the area, but I felt very comfortable in Homestead, and felt it was my kind of culture,” she said.

Moser had a similar story of getting to Homestead, in which he states, “After teaching at Hartford for 15 years, I was seeking a change professionally. My family wanted to move closer to Milwaukee. I applied to Homestead not knowing that either Rauch or Cicero worked here, and I was pleasantly surprised when Ms. Rauch called me back to interview for the job.”

Hartford Union High School was the origin of a few other Homestead teachers, in fact. Aside from the English department, Peggy Sabin from the business wing as well as Scott Heibler in science and Dan Claussen (former phy-ed teacher and current substitute) are also graduates of Hartford.

It seems at first like sheer coincidence that these three teachers ended up teaching at the same school, but when you follow their familiar passion for English, their reunion makes sense.