Llamas. Llamas. And more llamas. Spanish teacher Tara Jungels is obsessed with these adorably fluffy barn animals.
It all started in 2017 while teaching Spanish in Heritage Grove Middle school. A student decided to give her a llama pinata as a gift. Eventually, more students started giving her llamas.
When she had transferred to North in 2019, more student gifts were added to her collection, and now, she has 16 llamas sitting in her classroom.
“My favorite thing about them are the memories I have of them with different classes over the years,” Jungels said. “Since they are gifts from students, they all remind me of various favorite memories from over the years and also remind me why I love my job.”
Her first llama, Don Fernado, sits in a place of honor in the front of her room. He is joined by his “brother” Dan Ferdinand.
“Before my first llama pinata in 2017, I didn’t care about llamas,” Jungels said. “Now when I see them, I am reminded that I love what I do.”
Jungels obsession with llamas grew even further when she went to the Wunderlich Farms in Minooka with ASL teacher Emily Pomrening and got to interact with live llamas.
” She was ready to fill out the paperwork and everything,” Pomrening said. “I finally convinced her it was a bad idea when we did the math about how much the cost to feed every year.”
Jungels acknowledges that not all of her students might enjoy her fixation. Even so, Jungels describes the llamas as a way for students to feel safe when participating in class.
“I love the llamas, they are a fun way to interact with the students,” sophomore Dia Kapadia said.
Some people might consider Jungels obsession with llamas to be odd, but it is a way for her to bond with students and make her other passion, teaching Spanish, fun. Every day, she comes into her classroom ready to teach her favorite subject. .
“Spanish is so fun because of where we live,” Jungels said. “Most students have some prior knowledge of Spanish, so it’s fun to see them grow their knowledge — and even to watch them realize how bad they’ve been saying things all along. We also have a good amount of Hispanic students, so it’s fun to see them share their culture and experiences with their peers.”
Her passion for teaching and learning Spanish began with family members around her who spoke Spanish. Other than Spanish, Jungels is also trying to learn French as she finds it to be similar to Spanish.
“My grandpa and my mom’s stepdad were Mexican, so I grew up hearing some Spanish and liked learning Spanish,” Jungels said. “I really liked Spanish, and I thought teaching Spanish would be more fun, and it really is.”
Jungels is always looking to expand her llama collection. Any llama can find a new home in her room.
“I hope we can one day bring her a llama to school,” Pomrening said.
