Atlantic Collegiate Academy principal Mike Lorenz has added Tanja Warren to the Armada Faculty. Warren, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, near Toronto brings a fresh perspective on languages that Armada students should find interesting.
“We are so excited to have Ms. Warren as our new English teacher,” Lorenz said. “She is going to bring her life experiences to our students and school. She is a great fit and addition to ACA faculty.”
A first-generation Canadian, Warren’s family is from Slovenia (formerly Yugoslavia) in eastern Europe. While her mother’s side of the family all moved to Canada, her father’s side of the family still lives in Slovenia. As a Slovenian Canadian, Warren had a unique childhood immersed in both Slovenian and Canadian culture throughout her life.
“My parents shipped me to Europe twice on my own when I was just eight and nine years old,” Warren said. “I lived in Slovenia for three of four months at a time, working the farm with pre-twentieth century tools and practices along with some more modern tools and practices as the country shifted out of socialism.”
Warren was raised at home immersed in Slovenian culture and language primary culture while simultaneously cultivating language skills by the time she was four years old. Canada’s constitution requires all Canadians to learn to speak both official languages (English and French) and began to learn French when she was only six years old. In fifth grade, she opted to participate in the Extended French curriculum which submersed her into half an education where half of her classes were taught in French and the other half were taught in English. She began to learn the French language when she was only six as. She maintained her extended French studies through to the 10th grade.
In high school she split time between the Vaughan Road Academy (9th & 10th grade) and Father John Redmond Catholic Secondary School and Regional Arts Center (11th & 12th grade). At Vaughan Road she was active in cheerleading but, when she moved to Redmond, she became much more active in the Arts.
“I participated in musical productions and starred as the Wicked Witch of the West in ‘The Wizard of Oz’,” Warren said. “I also played Ellie Greenwich in ‘Leader of the Pack,’ and I started a Culture Club as a senior, organizing trips to see musicals, the opera and the symphony with any students interested in going.”
After graduating from high school, she took a long path to earning her degree. She started by attending York University in 2005-06 where she focused on Theater Studies. She moved on from there to George Brown College (2006-07) where she reignited her passion for French through the Continuing Education program studying French and French Culinary Arts. She went on to the University of Toronto (2007-08) where she completed coursework in French Literary Studies in the hope of pursuing a career as a French Immersion teacher.
After getting married and starting a family, Warren stepped away from college to raise her two sons, James (14) and Joseph (12). She worked as a secretary with the Toronto Catholic District School Board at both Our Lady of Peace Elementary School (a French Immersion school) and Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
In 2019, she moved with her husband, James Warren, and children to the United States. She took a position with the Spadoni College of Education and Social Sciences as a Special Programs Coordinator/Manager, supporting educational and social science scholarship/fellowship programs such as the Teaching Fellows, the Call Me MiSTERs and the Dyer Fellows in addition to supporting additional specialized programs within the college. She was awarded with the Spadoni College of Education and Social Sciences Staff Member of the Year in 2024.
While working at Coastal Carolina University, Warren was provided the opportunity to complete her undergraduate degree in Languages & Intercultural Studies, with a focus on English, French and Russian literature. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and was awarded with the LIS program’s award for Outstanding Graduate of the Year.
Over the years, Warren’s language skills continued to grow. In addition to English, she is fluent in French and Slovenian and has basic knowledge of Russian, Spanish and Serbo-Croatian. She said her favorite classes in college were in Russian Literature and she loves the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) and Alexander Dumas (1802- 1870). Her favorite novels are “The Brothers Karamazov” by Dostoevsky and “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Dumas.
