PROFILE

Cheryl Ann D'souza teaches English at St Joseph's Boys High School, Bangalore.

She completed her schooling from Loreto Convent, Lucknow in 1976 and graduated from Avadh Degree College, Lucknow in 1981. She has masters degree in two subjects -in History, which earned her a gold medal from Lucknow University in 1986, and in English from Garhwal University in 1990.

Her teaching career began in 1983 from her alma mater Loreto Convent, Lucknow. She later moved to Dehradun where she taught at St Joseph's Academy for some years. After that she coached students taking competitive examinations including those for CDS, SAT, GMAT, TOEFL, GRE and others.

Being the wife of an army officer meant that Ms D'souza got an opportunity to not only live in different places but also work in different cultural milieu which gave her a unique experience that helped her deal with several aspects of teaching. As a principal in a primary school in Nahan in Himachal Pradesh, she learned the nuances of administration before moving to Bangalore in 1997 following her husband's transfer there.

She joined St Joseph's Boys High School at Bangalore where she had been teaching English to senior students ever since. Here, apart from academics, Ms D'souza is involved with various co-curricular activities including public speaking, debating and literary clubs and also as the counsellor and guide for Leadership Training Club. She has even imparted religious instructions to students at all levels.

For Ms D'souza who has been teaching for the last twenty-four years now, teaching has been a learning experience especially in a multi-religious society like India where students come from various cultural affinities. That experience, she feels has given her a sense of satisfaction, which nothing else would have provided.