With summer here, many students are enjoying their full-time freedom. But not only talented graduates have left. A very capable teacher, experienced in science and endowed in the arts, Ms. Carol Palmiotto enters her retirement.

A notable point of Palmiotto’s past was her time spent in  New York City, working directly with George Balanchine, who has been regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet.

“At that point in my life, I had a lot of people pushing me to move forward with that, but I didn’t have the passion. You need to be excited about what you’re doing; it’s all about passion.” As Palmiotto searched herself for the inner passion that she was looking for, she described that “[she] really felt a connection in the classroom. I loved teaching and spending time with students.” Before long, Palmiotto had gained over 20 years of teaching experience working at University of Illinois and SDSU until she finally decided to move on and become a high school teacher. “I had never even been [at Uni] before, but as my oldest daughter was getting ready for high school, she found it, and we elected to check it out.”

“When we first came to Uni, I felt that there really was a tight community there. It was something that really made the school stand out, and it made you feel welome. ” Over the years Ms. Palmiotto also sent her four children through Uni/Cathedral as well. This has also truly helped her as a teacher, “Having four children completely changed the way that I understood my students. In each classroom, you can see your children’s strengths, weaknesses, personalities, and I try to see their potentials as well.”

Once she had settled into the science department at Uni , teaching biology and Intro to Science, Ms. Palmiotto’s next ten years were filled with memories that she would never forget.

“Back at Uni, I didn’t have a classroom, so I became the ‘traveling teacher.’ I would run around getting to each class with a cart carrying all of my scopes and such things. It was very interesting…I remember we always had to sign up to use the only lab in the school for class. It was challenging, but we got a lot of stuff done!”

Another fun memory that was interesting to look back on occurred while teaching in Mr. Montali’s classroom: “One time, using Mr. Montali’s room to teach a class, there were so many papers laying around that I meant to pass out a worksheet but accidentally handed everyone a copy of our football plays!”

With each and every class that Ms. Palmiotto taught, there were two things that she tried to help her students realize, “The first thing that I wanted them to understand was that San Diego, right here, is one of the hottest spots in the country for biotechnology, and it’s easy to get involved. The second thing I try to teach is the most difficult, teaching them that everything we are learning goes beyond the textbooks. Biology plays an active role in everyday life.”

Above all the lessons that were learned over the years, Ms. Palmiotto always opened her very first lesson the same way. “I would tell them that I hope they appreciate the God-given gift of life. I always started my classes telling them that this is important because it’s all about you! It’s biology—the study of life! I firmly believe that God put everything here for us on Earth—it’s up to us to figure it out.”

In finally announcing her retirement, the journey from Uni to CCHS will reach its end, as Ms. Palmiotto hopes to be able to spend more of her time with her family, especially her kids and grandkids. Yet with all the wisdom that Ms. Palmiotto has passed on over her teaching career, she admits that these high school students have taught her a lot as well.

“They showed me the importance of humor in everyday life, that we don’t all see things the same way, and that every individual has so many talents, and I’ll never forget any of that.”