Upper Campus science teacher Beth Caruso stares at the copy machine with impatience at the end of the school day, frustrated that the box of metal and screws isn’t working properly. Just as she’s about to give up and head back to her classroom, another teacher appears around the corner and notices her struggling. Anthony Caruso arrives right on time, helping her with the copy machine, and getting a wonderful marriage out of it too. 

There are many teachers at MCHS who have found their match within the school. Just like all couples, they have their strengths and weaknesses, but theirs may look a little different. From scheduling events to avoiding arguments that happened before a school day starts, these are some of the unique struggles that come with being married in the same school. 

Many couples that actually met at this school including Beth Caruso. “According to Mr. Caruso, he came to my rescue one day after school. My aggression towards the copier must have been attractive. But that’s one of the things I love about him — he’s my knight in shining armor.”

Raymond Currie, a science teacher at Upper Campus also talks about how he met his English teacher wife Marla at the Freshman Campus back when it was called East Campus, “We met here in 1994 when we were both hired at East Campus. We started dating in December of that year and 11 months later got married in November 1995.”

These couples had met at school by fateful chance, almost like a movie scene. Behind the scenes however, there can be troubles when working with your partner in the same building. 

Separating work and home life can be difficult for couples that are especially working together. “It’s hard to leave work at work,” says Mitchell Stengel, an English and journalism teacher, who married his wife and English teacher Leah over the summer. “For example, we go home and talk about our days and talk about curriculum and lessons and our classes.” 

Timing and planning when working in the same place with the same hours can also be an issue. “A big challenge is we are both required to go to faculty meetings after school and our kids, when younger, would need to be picked up from their school,” explains Gary Myers, a senior counselor at Upper Campus.

Although there can be some struggles when your co-worker is your partner, there are struggles in every relationship. The key is working together to ease the troubles; literally and figuratively for these couples.

Currie explains that it’s easier to understand one another, “It is great because we understand the time and effort it takes to be a teacher and the struggles one can have. It makes understanding easier if a person has a bad day. You can be more compassionate and understanding because you share similar work experiences.” 

Supporting each other really does give people more motivation according to Caruso. “We’ve learned that when you have the unconditional love and support of someone at work, someone who will go above and beyond for you, it makes the job that much more enjoyable. It’s that much easier to wake up in the morning and get motivated to do our best. Of course, we do it for the students first and foremost, but working together cements our family and creates an unbreakable bond.”

Caruso walks toward her coffee machine in the morning, feeling tired and cold. She goes to press the start button on the box of metal and dials, but the light doesn’t turn on. Sighing, Caruso begins to take a look at the machine when her husband Anthony comes into the room — her knight in shining armor.