Ms. Gianna Harris, Business Education
Former substitute describes how she discovered her passion for applying finance and business in the classroom.
At the start of last year’s second semester, Ms. Gianna Harris joined the Haven community as a long-term substitute teacher.
Going into this school year, she became a regular teacher in the business education department. She has been enjoying teaching students all about financial literacy.
“I love every single class that I teach, it’s a lot of hands-on project-based [learning],” she said. “I’m able to apply it to the real world and connect with the students about what they want to do after high school and kind of what they’re doing now. And then using that information and that knowledge in the classroom. So it’s a lot of fun.”
However, Harris’s career goal hasn’t always been to teach students finance. She had intended to head into the workforce when she discovered a better alternative for utilizing her financial knowledge.
“I realized that my university that I went to had a master’s program for business education. So I was able to use that finance and business background as an undergrad and apply it in a different way. And as soon as I started my education classes, I was like, ‘I absolutely love this’ the first time I stepped outside of the classroom.”
Harris believes this journey toward teaching young adults finance is meaningful and valuable, especially since it wasn’t her initial plan.
“Just because you plan on doing something doesn’t mean that you have to. It’s okay to kind of find other options and what you’re passionate about,” she said.
It’s exciting to see where life takes people. Harris has become an adviser for multiple clubs in the school community.
“I’m currently the advisor of the feminist club. I started doing that last year when I was here. I also help out with robotics for the business aspect of it. And I help advise Green Haven with Mrs. Dubs, and I also was asked to advise a new club called babysitting one on one,” she said.
Harris is not only advising clubs, she’s also finding more ways to get involved by helping to start the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) program in the spring semester. This club opens up opportunities for students interested in business and gives them the chance to go to conferences and competitions.
As the school year progresses, Harris is looking forward to continuing to teach students about finance. She recommends her classes to all interested.
“I think these classes are great for everyone, especially financial literacy, because no matter what you do after high school, everyone needs to learn how to manage their money, they need to learn how to do their taxes, because no matter what you do, you’re going to have to do that,” she said.