Spanish teacher, party-thrower and punk rocker, Nancy Geczi turns the classroom into a fiesta

By Carly Montan
Staff Writer

Many teachers have a certain sense of fashion, but on March 19, Nancy Geczi was sporting braids, black nail polish and a piercing. The Spanish teacher had certainly livened up the classroom.

“She creates fun activities and keeps the class on its toes with an exciting way of teaching,” sophomore Courtney Ung said.

Over the years, Geczi has found that switching up the roles of student and teacher gives her students a break from the pressures of class and shows them how silly they can be at times. When she plays a student, she acts like the stereotypical teenager and allows a few students be the teachers for the day once a year.

“The creative depiction of how teachers view students’ behaviors was both enjoyable and educational,” junior Sam Henneberry said.

A few characters Geczi has played over the years are a British punk rocker, a hippie and a nerd. When she dresses up, she zips around campus on a scooter, causing quite a commotion. She breaks classroom rules by texting, sharing food, interrupting the “teacher” and cheating.

“My favorite person to be is the punk rocker because it is the most outrageous. I wear piercings and crazy makeup,” Geczi said.

The planning of this special event may appear to require a lot of preparation, but Geczi said all it takes is deciding who she will be and which students will lead the class.

“It doesn’t take much. I just choose the character I haven’t been in a while and I’m ready to go,” Geczi said.

While a few of her colleagues may find her tradition crazy and strange, most say they appreciate Geczi’s guts and her willingness to take part on such an activity.

“If dressing up like a kid makes kids work harder, I’m all for it,” English teacher Shawn Chen said.

Geczi has been teaching Spanish at Costa for 15 years. She teaches Spanish 5-6, Spanish 7-8, and Advanced Placement Spanish, giving many students the opportunity to have the complete “Geczi experience”.

“Teaching is everything to me; I can’t imagine doing anything else, and I am so lucky to have a job that I can look forward to doing every day,” Geczi said.