As the 2024 school year comes to a close, the students and staff say goodbye to four members of the Penn-Trafford High School faculty and staff: Bronwyn Sodrosky, Marty Corna, Pam Barton and Renee Martz are retiring at the end of this school year.
These four shared information with the Warrior regarding their retirement plans and their experiences as part of the P-T staff.
Bronwyn Sodrosky has been a math teacher at P-T for 20 years. She went to Penn State for four years and did her graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh.
Over the years, Sodrosky has taught Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Honors Algebra 2, iAlgebra 2, Precalculus, College Statistics, Geometry and iGeometry.
“My favorite part [of being a teacher] has been the relationships I’ve made here with my fellow teachers,” Sodrosky stated. “It’s meaningful to be able to come to work every day and to be able to teach alongside people I admire.”
Sodrosky’s plans following retirement include hiking, biking, running and spending more time with her grandchildren.
“I just had my fourth grandchild,” she added. “I just want to spend time with them and watch them grow up… I’m an outdoor person, I just love to be out in nature.”
Marty Corna has been teaching at P-T for 26 years. She majored in accounting and minored in computer science in college. Also, she worked in accounting for about 10 years before becoming a teacher.
Corna currently teaches business and computer science classes, including Computer Programming I (Python), AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A (Java) and Introduction to Business.
The week after she retires, Corna said she plans on going to Bar Harbor, Maine. She shared that she always wanted to visit there, but this will be her first time going.
“It has been a nice school to work at. The kids are great,” said Corna. “I think I’ll miss it more than I realize, once I’m gone. It’s nice to not get up at 5 o’clock if you don’t have to.”
Pam Barton has been a personal care aide (PCA) for 18 years. Before she was an aide, she was a building aide and substitute for library aides and secretaries.
“I’ve always loved P-T,” she said. “My kids went here… and I just love all the staff and all the kids I’ve worked with.”
Barton also stated that what she enjoys about working at the high school is that she gets to work with students she knew in elementary; she likes seeing how much they have grown and progressed.
She also discussed her plans following retirement. “I have two sons getting married…” she said, “[and] I love to make candy, so I’ll be working on that.”
Renee Martz is the athletic secretary at P-T, meaning she is in charge of basic secretary duties in addition to athletic duties.
She explained that she chose this job because she is outgoing and can speak well. She added that she likes to spend time with people and kids.
She said she looks forward to spending time with her family and grandkids as well as traveling after her retirement. She added that she has a vacation planned with her whole family, which she is excited for.
“I’m going to miss the students, the faculty — [Athletic Director Kerry] Hetrick especially — and my athletic trainers, they’re the best,” Martz added. “I’d like to thank the faculty, staff, students, principals and everyone in the Penn-Trafford school district community.”
Abby Dreistadt, Editor in Chief