by Umi Keezing ’15
12 new faculty members have entered our midst, including teachers of English, math, chemistry, physics, psychology, art, history, French, and music.
The new Williston faculty members come from a variety of backgrounds. Adeleen Brown taught English in a French middle and high school, “presenting culturally-themed ideas and activities about the United States.” Paul Rutherford worked for two minor league baseball teams before he began to teach, and Charlotte Wilinsky attended the Williston Northampton School for six years.
They have also visited a multitude of places. Ronald Horton stayed in a sacred Buddhist temple in Japan. Logan Brown studied abroad in Vietnam and worked on a ranch in Wyoming. Rachel Chambers spent the summer of her 15th year on a bus that travelled to 11 European countries. Michael Doubleday “lived and worked in eight different states and one foreign country [Germany].” Kathryn Hill went on safari in South Africa, where she “got to pet a baby giraffe.”
Furthermore, the new faculty members aspire to be the best teachers possible. Charlotte Wilinsky values teachers who have “flexibility, patience, energy, and expertise in their subject.” Logan Brown admires a teacher whose “energy is completely contagious.” Ryan Tyree wishes to remain “curious about authors, short stories, poems, and essays” that he has “not yet experienced”, for “the learning process is unending, and a great part of the fun.”
In return, they expect effort from their students. Adeleen Brown hopes for a student who is willing “to learn, to be open to something new and to make connections with the subject and their personal interests, to make any given subject that more interesting to them [sic].” Kathryn Hill values “persistence, the willingness to put in lots of time and effort to understand material.” Michelle Lawson, on the other hand, prefers a student who “asks good questions” and is “interested and excited about learning.”
The teachers keep themselves busy outside of the classroom. Rachel Chambers’ hobbies include reading about math and placing knitted graffiti on trees, rocks, and benches. Michael Doubleday engages in triathlons and trail running. Paul Rutherford enjoys time-lapse and stop-motion filiming in addition to other short videos in his free time. Ronald Horton competes in trivia tournaments, collects antique maps, and scuba dives.
The new faculty members’ stories have the capacity to teach, entertain or shock us. Michelle Lawson’s consumption of a guinea pig in Peru and Ryan Tyree being “chased through the woods by a deranged killer” are only the beginning. I strongly recommend conversing with them if you encounter them on campus. We should learn as much as possible from the knowledge and experience that they bring to Williston.
