The Jag

By Nadia Katzenberger

Reporter

Rocchina Bruner didn’t always know what career she wanted, but once she found teaching, she knew it was right for her.

Bruner has been teaching for 13 years. She worked multiple school districts including in Independence for three years, in Odessa for three years, and in a small school district north of Columbia for six years.

“When we moved back home to be closer to our family, we kind of ended up here” says Bruner, “But I’ve taught everything from seventh grade to dual credit.”

Bruner graduated from University of Columbia and then went and got her master’s for English and creative writing from Southern New Hampshire University.

Bruner originally wanted to have a career in horse training. She went to Canada where she took a four-mouth equine study program.

“We were feeding 56 horses in the morning and night.” she says, “We were riding three horses a day.”

She learned how to break in horses, ride them, and she even did an Indian run with the horses. While she was doing collage classes, she also ran a barn

“I came back from that; I worked with a lot of vet offices,” she said, “I managed a horse barn and worked with horses.”

Bruner has two boys, eight and ten. They love to go camping and go to the boys’ soccer games.

“I come from a very dysfunctional family.” she says, “I can fill in a Jerry Springer show, for sure. But my immediate family is wonderful”

Bruner’s biggest role model has always been her older sister. She admires her and wants to follow in her footsteps.

“She always carried herself,” she said, “She’s very strong, and she had to live through a lot, and I admired that about her, and she kind of shaped me into who I am.”

Bruner loves the students and staff at South. She loves how so many people have been helpful in her first year here.

“The staff have been very welcoming, and I really enjoy my students” she said.
Bruner describes this year as chocolate Cold Stone ice-cream because it has been her favorite year so far along with all the surprises.

“I feel like that kind of throws in all, like, a newness or a surprise,” she said, “but it also kind of describes how all my students are very, very different from one another.”