By CAROLINE IBARRA
Staff Writer

Moving from her home in Wisconsin where she lived for 12 years and inspired by her high school experience, Ellen Judge is now teaching Algebra II and Statistics at Communications High School and the Allied Academy of Health and Science, according to Judge.

When Judge was attending St. Rose High School in Belmar, she said she watched her friends struggle with math class because the way the teachers taught was difficult to follow. From that moment on, Judge knew she wanted to be a teacher.

“I thought I could be a force of good,” she said.

Following her aspirations, she attended Monmouth University and earned an undergraduate degree in Math Education and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. After leaving Monmouth University, she taught at both “very large schools and very small schools” in Wisconsin, Maryland and New Jersey before coming to the Monmouth County Vocational School District.

Judge said that her transition to Communications is going well, although she experienced some culture shock during her first few days.

“I am still very much in the ‘Midwest State of Mind’,” Judge said about returning to New Jersey after being away for so long, though she still considers herself very much a “Jersey Girl”.

“You can take the girl out of Jersey but you can’t take the Jersey out of girl, I guess,” she said.

Teaching at a school much different to the schools in Wisconsin, Judge said she originally found it interesting that students have the opportunity choose a school that “could fit their needs.”

Judge said the students of CHS are her favorite part of teaching, and she ultimately enjoys “helping students get to where they need to be” the most.

While she is not teaching math, Judge said she likes reading non-fiction, improving her health and playing the piano.

“I’m always working towards something,” said Judge.