WOODBURY— Stonehill College, orientation, September 2001. Rebecca Trzaski walks into the line for school of business; at that moment, Trzaski’s focus and future major of choice: accounting. 

But as she looked forward, her eyes scanned the line seeing how long the line was. Then, Trzaski made a decision that would change her life forever.

After deciding that the line was far too long for her, she walked over to the dean of the School of Education and asked “Can I switch in?” 

After the approval from the dean, she then headed towards the path she has succeeded in the most and “never looked back.”

“I started off trying to be a math teacher,” says Trzaski, remembering back at her original career path.  “Although I love math, I was a horrible math teacher.”

After many trial and errors through her career and where it would take her, she finally settled on her place. 

“I had been taking a lot of history classes for fun,” says Trzaski.  “My academic advisor suggested the switch. I had been volunteering at an afterschool tutoring program near my campus, and I could not help kids with math.”

Trzaski Becoming a Chief

After graduating from Stonehill College in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree, a major in history and a minor in education, Trzaski started teaching history at Trumbull High School after passing her licensure exams.

In addition to teaching, she also coached field hockey and cross country, proving how well she can multitask. 

Trzaski’s way of teaching is extraordinary, she has a contagiously bubbly personality, and when she teaches her students in the room, everyone is engaged– which in the modern era of education, rarely happens. 

“It’s great being a co-worker with Ms. Trzaski because she’s one of the hardest working teachers in the building and is a consummate professional,” says Steve Bunovsky social studies teacher at Nonnewaug High School. “I’ve found her to be very helpful on many occasions, and I really appreciate that she has a pretty sharp sense of humor.”

When she teaches, she takes pride in bringing the things she teaches to life. 

After being at Trumbull High School for multiple years, in 2016 she had her second child and realized that the commute to Trumbull was becoming far more difficult; she then looked for new jobs and found an open position at Nonnewaug. 

For NHS and Trzaski alike, this moment brought immeasurable memories for students. 

Trzaski has been at Nonnewaug and teaching for almost ten years, and since then she has been one of the brightest lights that has ever entered campus. Whether working with her AP Government students or newly minted freshmen, Trzaski changes the way students connect with history. For Trzaski, it’s not just history, but it’s about telling a story. 

“Mrs. Trzaski’s class is a very good class and it is my favorite class to go to everyday,” Olivia Penrosa, freshman at Nonnewaug says. Penrosa has experienced Trzanski’s unwavering positivity as well as her teaching style is one that lights up a pathway for successful learning. 

“She’s always smiling and in a good mood,” Penrosa said. 

A Teacher who Cares

In her class, student learning comes to life, daily. 

As for Trzaski’s classroom, the environment she creates for kids serves as an excellent learning space, a room outfitted with hundreds of her own personal books, creating a library for students to explore literature and history. 

Harper Vendt, freshman at Nonnewaug High School who attends Trzaski’s class, attests to her class being one of her favorites. 

“I like how we could be talking about the most boring topic and Mrs. Trzaski could make it fun by using modern day examples to make it more understandable,” Vendt says. “She always makes it easy to learn because she knows how to work well with kids.”

Trzaski also thinks of students outside of just school, she makes sure her students are well and ready to learn, mentally, and physically.

“I would like to think that I have become more empathetic as I have progressed through my career,” says Trzaski, looking back over her nearly twenty years of teaching. “Every person is going through something, and it might not be visible or known, so I try to lead with kindness and understanding first.”

 Beyond her role as teacher, Trzaski serves as a leader among her colleagues. 

As well as being invested in her students in her classroom, Trzaski’s connection to them doesn’t just end when the final bell rings.

In 2025, the Region 14 school district held a board of education meeting where Trzaski spoke out against proposed cuts that would have eliminated teacher positions and diminished student opportunities as a result. 

At the meeting, Trzaski advocated against the budget cuts noting that these could harm students’ mental health and the jobs of student councilors.

During this meeting, Trzaski spoke as both a social studies teacher and the Teachers Association president. She advocated her concerns over the budget cuts; Trzaski expressed how four councilors held over 3,100 student meetings in 2025 alone, highlighting how important councilors are to students’ mental health and should be spared for the eliminated positions. 

Moments like these highlight how Trzaski works to help all of the students in Region 14 for bettering students’ education. Even though she doesn’t have or know all of these students– she wants to help fight against budget cuts and preserve student opportunities and resources. 

Trzaski cares, she makes sure her students – as well as others– are cared for. She understands that at the core of her profession is one universal truth: schools are here for the betterment of its students. 

“I always look forward to going to Trazki’s class,” Taylor Carella, freshman at Nonnewaug High School says. “She always makes her work fun and her stories make class actually enjoyable.”