Student Spotlight: Izzy Sussman '26

Isabelle is the first student in school history to receive the Gold Seal of Biliteracy, achieving the level of “Working Proficiency” in Spanish, the highest level available to a high school student. She also has completed college-level courses in Statistics and Analytic Geometry, receiving superlative grades in both. These pursuits dovetail with her goal of teaching mathematics to ESL learners. “The grace I have shown myself in learning a new language and new mathematical concepts is something I want to pass on to others,” Isabelle tells us. “To me this is the best way to balance both parts of my personality: the organized planner who will do anything possible to make sure her students are learning, and the absolute goofball who will also prioritize their general well-being.”

Already, she is volunteering at Gigi’s Playhouse working successfully with special needs students, while seeking out Indian Creek teacher Tania Berkowitz to undertake advanced independent projects on Spanish literature and instructional pedagogy. “I am so inspired by Izzy’s commitment to teach,” Ms. Berkowitz says, saluting her student’s “exceptional academic abilities, her unwavering dedication, and her profound passion for service and learning.” Says writer Terence Mann: “Television makes you rich, the movies make you famous, but it’s the theater that makes you good.”

Already, she is volunteering at Gigi’s Playhouse working successfully with special needs students, while seeking out Indian Creek teacher Tania Berkowitz to undertake advanced independent projects on Spanish literature and instructional pedagogy. “I am so inspired by Izzy’s commitment to teach,” Ms. Berkowitz says, saluting her student’s “exceptional academic abilities, her unwavering dedication, and her profound passion for service and learning.” Says writer Terence Mann: “Television makes you rich, the movies make you famous, but it’s the theater that makes you good.”