Happy Teacher Appreciation week!
We at Junior Achievement of Southern California would like to give a special shout out to a teacher
who is integral to the community we serve – Sonja Mason-Briscoe!
Sonja Mason-Briscoe is a force in the education community and a backbone of Dorsey High. As a Dorsey graduate (and former ASB President), Sonja is a steadfast champion for students, and her dedication goes far beyond her classroom. She had always dreamed of being a teacher and after receiving her masters in Special Education and launching her event planning and catering business she began teaching in 1999.
She soon returned to Dorsey to take on the role of Culinary Arts Teacher, combining her love of teaching, hospitality and culinary arts and in 2015 took the lead on the School of Business and Culinary Arts management which she has transformed into the Career Academy. She runs the program on top of her day-to-day teaching duties as she seeks to inspire and educate students to expand their ideas of what’s possible in their careers. She has introduced community partnerships to Dorsey from Whole Foods, TJX companies, Chik-Fil-A, Carmel Partners and more. Through her perseverance and oversight her students have earned almost a million dollars in scholarships and many of the partnerships she has brought to the school offer students job opportunities and paid internships.
We are grateful to all the educators like Sonja who are out here advocating for students!
