Rabia Mazhar

Rabia Mazhar has been an English, Social Studies, and Science secretary at the high school since March of 2021. Mazhar began her career at an Emergency Vet in Woburn, Massachusetts, before finding her place in administration four years ago.

What university did you go to and how was your experience?

I graduated from Andover High in 2015 and took a gap year, and then I started at UMass Lowell for nursing. College was just not a good fit for me. I tried going to community college after going to UMass Lowell, which is a bit backward, but that’s alright—I still tried. I was in college for maybe two and a half years but never finished. And then I just worked up to where I’m at now.

Is there anything about the BHS community that sticks out to you?

I’m going to have to say how great our teachers are. We’re coworkers but we’re in completely different areas of work here. The teachers are definitely incredible in terms of how they teach and what they teach. Like, their world view and how liberal they are, I want to say, is the word I’m looking for. And just how inclusive they are of everything, and introducing new curricula, and learning from their past mistakes or others’ mistakes. They are constantly striving to get to where they need our students to be.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I’m boring, so I like to do chores. I also have a big family, so my cousins and I get together for game nights a lot. We do board games, Jack Box games and we like long games like Monopoly. I also like cooking and cooking. I have to invite people over to help me finish the food and then to also have game night.

Did you do anything fun over the summer?

I got married! I got engaged in June and we had the wedding in August. And, as a secretary here, we work full year round, so we don’t get a summer. We do a lot of the ordering and the scheduling. It is a lot slower than the school year, but it still works.

Was there anybody in your life that helped you navigate through your past career changes? Or a mentor that inspired you to find administration?

Just between teachers I’ve had, families, and friends. I also taught Sunday school for a little bit at a local mosque, and the person who ran that Sunday school was a mentor of mine. We’ve been family friends—she’s basically my aunt, you know? She has definitely been there for me. But, in terms of my work and my school, and my path of what I took and how I did it, I honestly did it all myself. I didn’t really look for help from anybody. I probably needed it, but everything turned out just fine.