Margaret Derrig

Autobiography
I was born and raised in Northeast Ohio, just like my parents and siblings. We are a very
close family. I’m the middle child, two years younger than my sister and almost five years older
than my brother. My dad is a sales executive at UKG, but for as long as I can remember he has
worked from home, so he’s always been around to help with homework, coach sports teams, and
make us dinner. My mom started her own photography business 18 years ago and became super
successful. In 2018, she took a small step back from photography and opened an upscale
consignment boutique in the heart of Downtown Medina. My sister got her Associates degree in
early childhood education and taught preschool during the pandemic. Now, she is going back to
school to finish her Bachelors degree so she can teach 2nd grade. My brother is a four sport
athlete and one of the most persistent people I know. He has suffered countless injuries but his
resilience and dedication to his sports is like no one else I know. My family has always been my
biggest supporters and my biggest inspiration. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.
We moved to Medina when I was 4 and have lived there ever since. From preschool
through 12th grade I attended Medina City Schools. I’ve had so many great teachers from
Medina that have helped me become the person I am today. One of those teachers was our
yearbook advisor, who I became very close with my junior and senior year. I joined the yearbook
because my sister was in it and I thought it would be fun. It quickly became my favorite class
and my senior year I was the co-editor responsible for design elements in the book. I learned so
much from our advisor and from being an editor, much of which has helped me in my journey to
becoming an art teacher. Another class that had a big impact on me in high school was my
American Sign Language class. Medina is one of the few high schools that offers ASL as a
foreign language, and after my first class I fell in love. I took two years of ASL at Medina and
became the ASL Club Vice President my senior year. I continued to take ASL classes at OSU
and I am currently in my 5th class this semester. I am very passionate about ASL and hope to
continue taking classes so I can become fluent in the language.
Some of my other interests include music, traveling, and hanging out with my friends. I
have loved music and performing since before I can remember. We have old home videos of me
performing my favorite songs in our living room for stuffed animal audiences. I sang in our
school talent shows almost every year, and now, I play guitar, ukulele, and sing for fun in my
bedroom, once again in front of stuffed animal audiences. Music is a big part of who I am, and it
was the central focus of the unit plan I wrote for my classes. I also really love to travel and I’m
obsessed with national parks. One of my life goals is to visit every national park in the US (7
down, 56 to go). My relationships with my friends are also really important to me. My friends
are some of the kindest, funniest, and most loyal people I know. They have supported me
through so much and always have my back. Just like my family, I would be nowhere without the
constant support and encouragement I get from them.