@Random with Chemistry teacher Jolynn Young
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by Matt Grantz, Staff Writer
October 26 , 2010
(Morgan Ceschini photo)
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Her first impression of LAHS was that it seemed very big because she found out her room was on the fifth floor; however, no one bothered to tell her that the first two floors were underground.
Science teacher and Quiz Bowl team coach Jolynn Young, under whose bed one can find shoes and “probably a kid,” is always a fan of whatever sport her children may be playing that day. She also supports the Steelers by “sleeping through every game.”
This night owl, also enjoys crocheting and camping and dreams of owning a Corvette convertible someday.
She prefers dogs over cats, so much so that she enjoys looking for dogs on Petfinder and recently adopted one into her family, a dachshund-Jack Russell terrier mix named Eddie.
“Cape Fear” is the movie that she would watch over and over because it’s the first movie she watched with her husband, but she often finds herself saying “Bueller, Bueller, anyone?” from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” She is also reality TV fan of “America’s Got Talent” and, despite what people may think, “The Biggest Loser.” Her favorite magazine is Family Fun and she names Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band as the best band ever.
This fan of semi-sweet chocolate will not eat tomatoes because she just doesn’t like them. She prefers to over salad and likes her eggs over easy, while declaring cheesecake the best dessert ever. This self-proclaimed food addict especially enjoys the veal parmesan at her favorite restaurant, the Villa. She also chooses steak over chicken and she wants it grilled.
Young said the best thing she can cook is a Malaysian chicken sauté with spicy peanut sauce. In her refrigerator, which is covered in free magnets from take-out menus and Alcatraz, she said anyone can always find chocolate chips, lunch meat and “something moldy.”
Her travels outside the United States have included trips to Malaysia, Canada and Venezuela, which was her favorite vacation with her parents. On the topic of leaving the country, she says that the coolest thing she has ever done was being a foreign exchange student to Malaysia.
If she could meet any famous person, it would be chemist, writer and philosopher Roald Hoffmann. If Young could switch places with anyone for a day she would switch with President Obama. On the other hand, she dislikes Miley Cyrus because “she is not a good role model for girls.”
(Morgan Ceschini photo)
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This claustrophobic teacher freely admits that one her guilty pleasures is buying yarn on the Internet, which also happens to be her favorite place to shop. The best place she’s ever lived is her current home and she says she will never leaver her house without her keys.
If she could write her own fortune cookie it would say, “Do something good when no one is looking.” The one lesson her parents taught her that she won’t forget is “You never know when doing something nice can make a difference.”
Young believes that the defining factors in her classroom are the decorations and the clutter. Clutter also seems to be the defining factor of her purse as she says it is filled with “clutter, more clutter and probably an old Kleenex.”
She doesn’t play any computer games and thinks “not again” when she hears the word “technology.” Three things Young said she will never do are take drugs, bungee jump or intentionally hurt someone. Cleaning the bathroom is the household chore she detests, while January is her least favorite month because it is so long and cold. In comparison, Friday is her favorite day of the week because she can stay up as late as she wants.
Her favorite class in high school was biology. At Highlands High School, she also participated in synchronized swimming and diving, but she has never been good at gymnastics. The teachers that influenced her most were Joyce Hatch, her high school chemistry teacher, and James Stringfield, her education professor.
Young attended both Pitt Johnstown and the main campus of Pitt in Oakland. In addition to teaching, her jobs included selling pop at church bingo and mowing lawns. Her first official job was waitressing at Bonello’s in Natrona Heights.
If she were independently wealthy, Young said she would present education programs for domestic abuse prevention since she already supports the Hope Center for domestic violence.
The cartoon character she compares herself to is Dr. Bunsen Honeydew from “The Muppets.” Scout from “To Kill a Mockingbird” is the literary character she admires most “because of the way she treated Boo.” She also lists both “The Little Prince” and “The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics” as her favorite books.
The youngest of four siblings, all girls, Young says that she couldn’t live without her family.
(Morgan Ceschini photo)
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A few more very random things about Young:
1] To her the best smell in the world is that of Thanksgiving dinner.
2] If she had any super power, she would want super strength.
3] She is a Pisces who is annoyed by other drivers who pass, cut in front of her and then slow down.
4] When she looks to the future, she fears global war.
5] Stories about teachers and feel-good stories in the news always catch her eye.
6] She has a moon tattoo on her ankle.
7] The best gift she has ever given was a limited edition LEGO Viking chess set.
8] The best gift she ever received was a hand-drawn portrait of her family in which “everyone looks like potatoes.”
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