Alexandra Merlino

Current Position: 10th Grade Pre-Calculus, Geometry, and Algebra 2 Teacher

Story Last Updated: Summer 2024

A graduate of Bensalem High School, Alex transferred to GMercyU as a sophomore because she wanted the feel of a smaller college with classes that offered more one-on-one time with her professors.

After transferring, I 100% felt that. I was able to get a better grasp of my education and dive deeper into concepts that I wanted to learn more about.

At GMercyU, Alex was in two honors societies: Kappa Delta Pi, an education honors society; and Sigma Zeta, an honors society for math and science. She was also a member of SGA for a year and in the Education Outreach Club.

During her senior year, Unami Middle School of the Central Bucks School District called Dr. Cheryl Malfi, GMercyU Field Placement Coordinator, looking for a secondary math teacher due to a teacher shortage. Within days, Alex was hired and soon started working there before she even graduated from GMercyU. This summer, she accepted a job at MaST Community Charter School. Here’s her story.

A Lifelong Passion

I knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was young. I grew up in a family that had multiple teachers and always loved going with them to “Bring Your Child to Work Day.” Knowing that I could help those achieve something they may not believe they could do is very important to me

Even when I was in high school an all through college, I worked at a daycare because I wanted to be part of the children's education and help shape their little brains, but I knew I did not want to be an Early Education major (even though Professor Boyd tried many times to get me to switch). I really wanted to be a Secondary Education major.

Support from Her Professors

Before I started at GMercyU, my friend who went there always told me how amazing all the professors were. The professors are most definitely a huge reason why I was successful right out of college. Professor Gallagher, Professor Pierantozzi, Professor Boyd, and Dr. Malfi always knew education was my passion. It was so easy to talk to them about anything. Even if it wasn’t about education, they always had an open door.

I would say, having the right people in your corner, always supporting you, is what drives that motivation and makes you want to be successful. If it weren't for them, I do not think I would be in the profession and be successful at teaching.

They all had a huge impact on me – all of my Education professors and Professor Gallagher, who was my mathematics advisor, and one of my math professors. They were truly the best teachers I could ask for. Professor Gallagher always knew I could push myself past my limits and still to this day, we keep in contact!

Launching Her Career Before Graduation

I was still a student-teacher when Dr. Malfi contacted me about the job at Unami Middle School. I distinctly remember that I got the call from Dr. Malfi on a Tuesday about the position and had my interview with the school district on Thursday of the same week. I was extremely eager about the position, but I was also extremely nervous at the same time.

At the end of the interview, they said they’d like to hire me and asked if I could start the following week, but they understood that I wanted to say goodbye to my students at student-teaching and were completely okay with that.

When I called Dr. Malfi to tell her I accepted the position, she was so incredibly happy for me! I have to say, all my professors were proud of me. They all called me to express that.

From there on, I observed a teacher for two days and then started on my own. Both the principal and assistant principal were very supportive and worked around my schedule if I had to go to GMercyU for class.

Life as a Secondary Math Teacher

Being a math teacher, my goal is for students to get that "ah-ha" moment or that spark in their eyes when they finally understand a concept.

When I was student-teaching, I received many of those "ah-ha" moments, and that is truly when I knew that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

One thing I love about teaching is just watching 14-year-olds turn into young adults and see how much they have grown throughout one year. It is hard to say what inspired me to be a teacher, but I think one of the biggest things is to change the perceptions that math is only for smart people and that it is too hard. But that’s not the case. Some students just don’t have the support system to get them through math, and I want to change that. I want to be that teacher that makes one child love math after hating it for so long.