Veronica Skomra
November 30, 2022
¡Hola! Guten Tag! Bonjour! The World Languages department poses for a photo. From left to right: Dane Leone, Sandra Mitchell, Mark Petrarca, Veronica Skomra, Patricia Leonard and Jessica Patton.
Ten years ago, Skomra began her teaching journey. Two years afterward, she started teaching French at Altoona.
Skomra attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and St. Francis University. Her dream to become a teacher dates back to her childhood.
“I think I’ve known since I was really young, just because I have a little sister. I kind of played the teacher role all the time when we were younger. It’s kind of funny. I mean, having good teachers in school helped, too. The bad teachers told me what not to do. I like making a difference in people’s lives,” Skomra said.
A teacher in high school inspired her to take a French teaching career path.
“I had one really good teacher in high school. I stuck with [French], and I really liked it. I also like to be different, too. I don’t like to do what everybody else is doing. I just kept at it [French]. I didn’t know for a long time what I was going to do. I knew I was going to be a teacher, but I didn’t really know it was going to be French until the end of high school,” Skomra said.
I like making a difference in people’s lives. — Veronica Skomra
In 2010, Skomra studied abroad for one semester in France. This college experience as well as certain classes helped her comprehend French.
“I mean, at IUP we had to take methods classes, which honestly those actually helped, and just taking language courses in college. Studying abroad really made it easier for me. It’s just easier to learn that way [because] you’re immersed,” Skomra said.
After college, Skomra decided to teach in Altoona after two years of teaching at a different school district.
“The former school district that I worked for ended up getting rid of the program. It just so happened that Altoona had an opening right after that happened,” Skomra said.
One thing that Skomra values is bringing an original experience to the classroom.
“Something that’s important to me as far as teaching is giving [the students] authentic experiences and opportunities outside of the classroom setting, because oftentimes we focus on content. That’s not always what you want to do. This is why I’m offering that trip to France,” Skomra said. “I run the foreign language club. We take several field trips throughout the year for that. I can tell you that in the last couple of years since I’ve taken over for FLC our numbers have grown exponentially. I really enjoy it.”