New teacher boasts multiple talents while aiming toward end goal

Joni Kirwan is a new member of the teaching staff at Chase County Schools, teaching high school physical science, chemistry and physics.
Kirwan graduated from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas in 2014 with Bachelor of Science degrees in both Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Included in her resume were three research positions which furthered her goals in her field.
“I always thought I would eventually end my career as a professor at a university,” Kirwan said.
She explained that her plan after college was to work in research first, moving toward a teaching position.
“This position at CCS got me back into education,” she said.
There’s a big gap between education and real life science, and college professors don’t wait for students to get up to speed, said Kirwan.
“Professors expect students to already have certain knowledge on the first day of class—as a high school teacher, my goal is to get them there,” she said.
Some background
She is a fourth generation Italian. She can read Italian but not speak it.
Her grandfather’s parents were immigrants from Italy, so he spoke Italian and English fluently.
“He didn’t teach Italian to his children because he felt since they lived in America, they should speak English,” she said.
Kirwan grew up in Girard, Kansas on the family farm, Mengarelli Family Farms.
Living and working on the farm taught her hard work,  animal care and responsibility.
Over the years, the farm raised dairy cows, sheep, different types of poultry, rabbits, pigs, goats and commercial cattle.
With both parents working, Kirwan said she grew up around her grandparents.
“My grandmother was a second grade teacher and taught me the importance of penmanship. I feel like penmanship is a lost art and has gone by the wayside with today’s technology,” Kirwan said.
“I miss seeing my grandmother’s handwriting and handwritten cards,” she said.
Kirwan said she feels it’s important to keep handwriting alive and still writes letters and cards to family and friends all over the country.
“I like sending and receiving handwritten mail from people. I actually require my students to hand-write their notes in my class—it’s a skill they need to know,” she added.
Her grandfather served in WWII, and her grandparents wrote many letters back and forth to each other during that time.
“Their life was like a Hallmark story. They kept all their personal letters to each other, and when my grandmother died with my grandfather passing away seven days later all their letters to each other were buried with them, never to be read by anyone else,” said Kirwan.
Kirwan and her husband, Wyatt, moved to Imperial three years ago. They now have a one-year-old daughter named Cleo and two dogs.
Kirwan’s interests outside of teaching include embroidery, sewing, reading, making Christmas ornaments, baking, cooking, canning, jigsaw puzzles and exercising her dogs.
“I’m a Betty homemaker,” she laughed.