🌟Today`s Fellow Friday Spotlight is on: Ms. Berezka!

🏫Ms. Berezka has been teaching for 10 years. She is a @chipubschools product and Chicago native. She started her career in South Korean public schools, taught in Little Village, and now is a proud 3rd grade teacher at Thomas J. Waters where she also serves on the Instructional lead team. She was inspired to join the Pilot Light Fellowship to build cultural connections through food. Ms. Berezka is passionate about building a community for her diverse classroom-and cooking with them! She is no stranger to food and the service industry, being a former employee of @lulacafe and Le Bouchon. In her spare time, she also runs a small business, @tinyopalvintage.

💚A Favorite Food Memory:
"I`ll always remember my Lolo taking me to Viet Hoa every Saturday as a child. Filipinos didn`t have many grocery stores in Chicago back then, so we shared community with "Little Vietnam." We would park in the small, overcrowded lot, and the owners of the store ALWAYS greeted my lolo. He would bolt to the seafood section, carefully assessing the fish (with heads on!) blue crabs, snails. I remember he would pick up a crab, no matter what, and judge it upon pick up. "FAT! We will get a big bag.." or "Skinny...not worth it!" He would then let me peruse the treats; rainbow rice cakes, Haw Flakes, dried mango, White Rabbit candy, different colored jellos in tiny cups. I`ll never forget those trips."

🌱 Over the past school year, Ms. Berezka`s students enjoyed cooking together and giving back to their community. They made everything from quesadillas and chili to seaweed salad and pinkabet, a traditional Filipino vegetable dish. They even had a visit from @aldermanmattmartin, who saw the class create a fried rice dish together.

Thanks for all of your hard work in this year`s Fellowship, Ms. Berezka! 👏

#teachershoutout #fellowfriday #pilotlightchefs #foodeducation #teacherspotlight #elementaryteacherlife #elementaryteachersrock ...