Idara Foster ’11 is back at Taft and back in the classroom, but on the other side of the desk. The 2015 Wesleyan University graduate is teaching English at Taft as part of her work with the prestigious Penn Residency Master’s in Teaching Program.

“I feel that you can teach the world through English,” says Idara. “It’s all there: love, failure, honor, happiness, identity…”

Intent on being a pharmacist, Idara was five hours into an Organic Chemistry lab at Wesleyan when she realized that it was life outside of the lab that brought her the greatest sense of joy and fulfillment.

“I like talking to people. I like being around young people. I like talking to people about things that matter,” explains Idara. “I can do all of that teaching. I can create opportunities for students to learn empathy, and to learn about themselves.”

As a student at Taft, Idara was involved in a little bit of everything—she was a volleyball player, a track captain, a school monitor, a member of the Class Committee, and head of United Cultures at Taft. She was also the student who reached out to everyone in the school community with a warm hello, and genuine concern for their comfort and well-being. Not much has changed. Idara brings her warmth and caring to the classroom, to the volleyball and track teams she coaches, and to the dorms, where she lives with and mentors the young women of USGD.

“Being with the girls—that’s definitely what is most important to me,” says Idara. “No matter who you are, what you look like, or what you do, your Taft experience will be ten times greater if you have someone to talk to. I love being that person.”