Xeryah Salanoa is a new teacher at Radford. She teaches World History, Modern Hawaiian History, and English in both resource and inclusion classroom settings.

“My goal is to help as many students as I can to become the best versions of themselves and hopefully make them feel like they’ve had an enjoyable and successful schooling experience,” she said.

Salanoa attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and represented the women’s volleyball team. She regularly traveled during her time in the United States and mentioned how easy it was to travel to other states. She always dreamed of being a physician’s assistant but later pursued the adventurous career of teaching.

“I always wanted to be a Physician’s Assistant, but I ended up switching majors in my second semester of my freshman year and became a teacher instead,” said Salanoa.

Salanoa was a teacher at Makalapa Elementary in 2022. Before she decided to teach at Radford High, she worked as an inclusion teacher for the 5th and 6th grade at Pearl Harbor Elementary.

Salanoa looked up to her parents and recognized their passion for teaching.

“I wanted to become a teacher because I’ve always looked up to my parents and saw how much they enjoyed their job as teachers,” she said.

She always enjoyed serving others as well as working with kids, so she knew in her heart that teaching was the way to go. When asked about what she enjoys about Radford High School, she said, “I like the school culture and the unique population of students here at Radford.” When asked about what she doesn’t enjoy, she said, “The only thing that I dislike is that not every classroom is air-conditioned.”