Jessie Pena is an English teacher for IB students and has been teaching for over 20 years now. Having grown up here in Tampa, he attended Jefferson high school and then studied at University of Florida earning a degree in literature.
“I then lived for a while in the Kissimmee, Orlando area—and then I came back to Tampa when I had kids,” Pena said.
Though pursuing a degree in literature, he originally did not intend on becoming a teacher.
“I went to work in the insurance industry, which I had some experience in from part-time jobs in high school and college,” Pena said.
Some time after being led to the insurance industry, he felt like he wanted to do something with literature, as he always had a love to work with great students.
“It’s interacting with the kids and seeing them improve their skills, gain insight into the literature, but also me getting some insight back from the kids. So kids often come up with things that I hadn’t noticed about book, even books that I’ve taught for years, and it’s just little light bulbs go off for me too”, Pena said.
Pena chose to be a part of Robinson for multiple reasons.
“So kind of on the practical side of it, my kids moved to a new school, Adum, the new K-8 school that was just built. So I wanted got be close to them and be able to bring them to school in the morning,” Pena said.
In addition, Pena wanted to come to Robinson after hearing great things about the school culture and the kids here.
“You know, you have a great freshman class this year. I think you have like over 170. So I was excited to come in and work with them,” Pena said.
Pena also speaks highly on the faculty whom he is learning so much from.
“Working with such an experienced faculty, Mrs. P and Mrs. Vassey, who’ve been here for many years and have so much knowledge that they’re sharing with me. So I’m excited to grow as a teacher, as an instructor, and work with great students,” Pena said.
