News

New Faculty and Teaching Fellows 2008-2009

#Amy Barnosky Intern, Graham House Previously… earned her M.A. in counseling psychology with a concentration in school psychology. She has worked in an urban public school in Massachusetts and as Director of Student Services in an international language school. Came to Andover because… of its reputation. “I liked the idea of counseling, but also interacting with students on campus.” Is excited to… “finally meet the students after two weeks of orientation.” Over the summer… worked as an assistant teacher in a New York City school. An interesting fact… she loves to ski, snowboard and play soccer. She is interested in photography and loves to travel. #Cesar Dominique Moreno Instructor in Spanish Previously… taught at Harvard University for five years, working with Harvard Extension School and Harvard Summer School. He also lived in Brazil, where he taught for five years. Came to Andover because… he did not want to move out of Massachusetts to teach and “Andover’s mission statement was the most attractive of the schools I looked at.” Is also… a complementary house counselor in Samaritan House and a coach for boys varsity soccer. An interesting fact… Moreno has lived in Spain, Brazil and the U.S. Living in Brazil “changed my life,” he said. For the first time, he was a minority in the population of the place he was living. #Dr. Rick Fienberg Visiting Scientist on the Israel Family Foundation Graduated from… Rice University with a B.A. in physics. Later… earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at Harvard University in astronomy. Also…worked for Sky and Telescope magazine for 22 years in reporting and editorial positions, most recently as Editor in Chief. Came to Andover because… he decided to take a break from journalism and go into education. This job was ideal because Fienberg can teach and also work in the observatory. Over the summer… he visited the North Pole on July 25 on his way to view a solar eclipse in August. An interesting fact… he has traveled to all seven continents and has visited the North and South Poles chasing eclipses and conducting other research. He visited the South Pole hunting meteorites and camped there for three nights. #Rev. Anne Gardner Director, Spiritual & Religious Life Protestant Chaplain Previously… earned her B.A. in economics, but decided she wanted to join the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. She was placed on a Native American reservation in Northwest Montana with a monthly stipend of $50. Later…spent 20 years working in admissions, including at the Harvard Divinity School, when she started attending Episcopal services. Later, she attended a seminary and was ordained as an Episcopal minister. Came to Andover because… In 2005-06, Gardner took a part-time internship at Andover with the Reverend Michael Ebner. When the new position opened up, she seized the opportunity to apply. Is also… a complement in Alumni House and faculty advisor for CHILL. She is also working on the commencement and ASM committees and will be an interviewer and possibly a reader for the admissions office. #Kevin Graber Assistant Dean of Admission Graduated from… UMass Amherst with a M.A. in education. Later… worked at UMass Amherst and Amherst College and coached baseball. Came to Andover because… he liked the feel of the community when he visited last January and accepted the opportunity when Andover offered him a position. Is also… a complementary house counselor in Pease House and hopes to coach baseball in the spring. Over the summer… coached the Saratoga Phillies in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. He spent the summer there with his wife and three children. An interesting fact… he played baseball professionally, traveling to Australia, Minnesota and New York. #Mohammed Harba Instructor in Arabic Graduated from… Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad, Iraq with a B.A. in translation and linguistics. Later… served as an interpreter for the U.S. Marines. He came to the United States on the Fulbright Scholarship in 2005, where he graduated from Binghamton University with a M.A. in comparative literature. Came to Andover because… he heard of the school through friends who are Andover alumni. “It was a great opportunity for me.” Is also… a coach for boys soccer. Is excited to… meet new students in his classes this fall and to teach about Middle Eastern culture. An interesting fact… he is interested in American football, which he saw for the first time when he came to the U.S. #Tasha Hawthorne Instructor in English Graduated from… Bates College with a B.A. in english and African American studies. Later… earned her M.A. at Cornell University in African American studies and taught at Johns Hopkins University and the Pembrooke Hills School. She is currently working on her Ph.D. at Northwestern University in English with a concentration in 20th-century and African American literature. Came to Andover because… “I want to determine whether I want to teach at a school like Andover or be a professor at a small liberal arts college.” Is also… a complementary house counselor in Pemberton Cottage and a coach for instructional volleyball and JV boys volleyball. Is excited for… coaching boys volleyball for the first time. She is also looking forward to working with her new colleagues. #Dr. Christopher Jones Instructor in History Graduated from… Amherst College with a B.A. in history and African American studies. Later… taught at Andover for three years. Then…earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Brown University. Came back to Andover because… “I had a great teaching experience at Andover before.” He contemplated a college or university position, but ultimately decided to return to Andover. Is also… a complementary house counselor in Tucker House and coach for JV1 boys soccer. Is excited to… get back to teach in the classroom and meet new students and faculty. #Dr. Christine Marshall Instructor in Biology Graduated from… Smith College with a degree in psychology and biology. Later… earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University in neurobiology and completed four years of postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School. Came to Andover because… “Andover had a good balance between work life and personal life.” She also wanted to focus on teaching now, with less of an emphasis on research. Is also… a complementary house counselor in Morton House and assistant coach for girls cross country and indoor track. An interesting fact… she traveled around the world three years ago, trekked through North Vietnam living with minority tribes and visited a silk manufacturing plant in India. She enjoys hiking, biking, horseback riding and spending time outdoors. #Elizabeth Poland Instructor in French Graduated from… University of Virginia with a B.A. in French. Later… earned her M.A. in French from Stanford University. Poland has taught in northern California and Massachusetts at the middle school and high school levels. She has also taught ESL. Last spring, she taught French at Andover. Came to Andover because… she has been familiar with the school for a long time and knows the head of the French department, Mr. Charles Clerc. An interesting fact… she sings with the New England Classical Singers and works with AVIS, a conservation agency in Andover. She also loves to cook, especially French food. #Asabe Poloma Director, Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers Graduated from… Hampton University with a B.A. in political science. Later… earned her M.A. in international studies from Old Dominion University and her M.S. from Columbia University. Most recently, she worked for the Program for Research Universities and Humanistic Scholarship at the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Is also… a complementary house counselor in Isham Dormitory. An interesting fact… she lived in East Africa and climbed part of Mt. Kilimanjaro during her senior year of college. Her goal is now to go back and finish the climb. #Rabbi Michael Swarttz Jewish Chaplain Graduated from… Temple University with a B.A. in Middle Eastern history and a M.A. in education. Later… attended the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He has worked with teens in religious schools, summer camps and youth groups and is the rabbi of a synagogue in Westborough. Is excited for… “the challenge of making a contribution to the Phillips Academy community and the caliber of the students and faculty I will be working with.” He is also looking forward to the challenge of recreating the Jewish Chaplain position. An interesting fact… he is interested in humor and has performed stand-up comedy. He is also trained in Reiki, a Japanese form of energy healing. #Marlena Ysalguez Academic Support Specialist Graduated from… William and Mary College with a B.A. in Hispanic studies and sociology. Later… earned her M.A. in education at Simmons College. Ysalguez taught at the Landmark School, a school for students with learning disabilities, for three years. She also taught at the Wheeler School in Providence, RI as an academic support specialist. Came to Andover because…she was looking for a job similar to her position at the Wheeler School in the Andover area. “The location and position were ideal.” Is also… a complementary house counselor in Hearsey House and a track official. An interesting fact… she has a seven-month-old son named Amado. She also studied abroad in Mexico after her junior year of college. #Marisa Zepeda Assistant Dean of Admission Graduated from… MIT with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science. Later… worked for two years as the Assistant Director for MIT admissions. Came to Andover because… she was looking for a different environment from MIT and more interaction with students. When she visited Andover, the “community was extraordinary and the faculty were caring and professional.” Is also… a complementary house counselor in Whitney House. She would also like to become involved with the math and science clubs at Andover. Is excited for… interactions and meeting with students. Over the summer… traveled to Kentucky for her grandmother’s 75th birthday and went wine tasting in California. #Hillary Abe Teaching Fellow in English Graduated from… Dartmouth College. Came to Andover because… “Andover kind of found me. I met a new Admissions Rep and a teacher, John Stableford. And I have a lot of friends who went here.” Is most excited about… becoming a part of the community and getting to know students and faculty. Is also… a house counselor in Bishop and is “doing some work in the admissions office. I’ll be helping with the recruitment of new Native American students.” Over the summer… he traveled around the Ukraine and Poland. An interesting fact… over the summer Abe was filming a documentary in Mexico. “It’s on border politics and, basically, the drug wars.” #Alexandra Bondar Teaching Fellow in Russian Previously… graduated from Kamchatka State University two years ago and has been in the U.S. since then as an au pair. Came to Andover because… she wanted to improve her teaching skills. Is most excited about the teaching fellowship which is “a great opportunity for young people” like herself and that she will be able “to get a lot of information from the other department members and teachers.” Is also… a house counselor in Isham Dormitory and is coaching cross country skiing and Search and Rescue. “I’ve done cross country before; it’s going to be so much fun.” Over the summer… she went back to Russia to be with her family. #William Boysen Teaching Fellow in Biology Previously… graduated from Amherst College. Came to Andover because… “I was looking for a one-year position before going to medical school. I heard about Andover from a family friend.” Coaching… football and wrestling. After competing in football and wrestling in high school, Boysen is “excited about getting involved again.” Also… a house counselor in Rockwell. Over the summer… “I did a bit of traveling. I went to Europe. We started in Barcelona, and then we flew to Rome and worked our way up to Amsterdam. I also spent a lot of time filling out medical school applications. Now I’m waiting to interview.” An interesting fact …he spent a semester abroad in South Africa studying ecology in a program sponsored by Duke. #John Brogan Teaching Fellow in Chemistry Previously… graduated from Vanderbilt University. Came to Andover because… he is an alumnus of Hotchkiss and heard about Andover during high school. Is also… coaching water polo. Is most excited about… “beating Exeter in water polo for the first time in a long time.” Over the summer… he taught at the ACE program. An interesting fact … “I worked at a discovery lab in Pennsylvania. We researched a lot of different drugs, but I was working on an Alzheimer’s drug.” #Sheena Dasani Teaching Fellow in History Previously… graduated from Princeton University. Came to Andover because… “I was applying to a lot of teaching fellowships and one of my roommates went to Andover, so this is great.” Is most excited about… “meeting the students and getting a taste of what teaching is really like.” Is also… a house counselor in Paul Revere and a crew and tennis coach. Over the summer… coached tennis and backpacked across Europe. #Hailey Folmer Teaching Fellow in English Previously… graduated from Smith College. Came Andover because… “I graduated in ’04 and I absolutely love it here.” Is most excited about… “getting to work with people who were once my teachers.” Is also… a house counselor in Bancroft. Folmer intends to coach a sport later in the year. Over the summer… she was a teaching assistant at Andover Summer Session. An interesting fact … “I love photography. I like going to Lawrence to take pictures of the mills up there. They look really interesting on camera.” #Ernesto Gonzales-Giraldo Teaching Fellow in Chemistry Previously… graduated from Harvard College. Came to Andover because… “All my best friends went here, and they said it was so cool. I really wanted a chance to try out teaching and meet real teachers. Is most excited about… interacting with students and becoming “a role model of sorts” for them. Is also… a house counselor in Bartlet and is helping with Search and Rescue. An interesting fact is… he was born in Colombia and speaks French, Spanish, English and a little German. #Zach Hobbs Teaching Fellow in Community Service Previously… graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in history. Came to Andover because… Hobbs found a listing for the position of Teaching Fellow in Community Service on idealist.org. Is most excited to… “work with students both through service projects and throughout their holistic Phillips Academy experience.” Is also… working with the PRAXIS community service and athletic program. This summer… Hobbs was a coordinator of programs for Freshman orientation at BU. An interesting fact… “I like appetizers from chain restaurants, plaid shoes and the state of Vermont.” #Robert Kingery Teaching Fellow in Mathematics Previously… graduated from University of Southern California majoring in electrical engineering; a Phillips Academy alum. Came to Andover because… he likes to explain things. He had a teaching job in his senior year of college teaching electromagnetics, and he wishes to explore teaching as a career. Is also… coaching cluster basketball in the winter and varsity Ultimate in the spring. Is excited to…see education from a different perspective than he is used to. This summer… he bounced between L.A. and Portland, spending time riding his bike, and playing, writing and listening to music. #Jacqueline Latina Teaching Fellow in Chemistry Graduated from…Princeton University with a B.A. in chemistry. She minored in material science and engineering. Came to Andover because…she graduated from Andover in 2004 and “really wanted to come back. It seemed like a great opportunity, especially as I am applying to medical school.” She talked to her previous Chemistry teacher, Mr. Maqubela, who encouraged her to apply. Is also…a house counselor in Paul Revere and coach for Crew in the fall and spring. An interesting fact…she likes to travel and speaks Spanish. #Timothy McCall Teaching Fellow in German Previously… graduated from Bates College, double majoring in history and German. Coaching… cross country, track and helping with the Philomathean Society. Excited for… teaching and interacting with the student body, both in and outside of the classroom. This summer…McCall participated in a weeklong canoe and camping trip along the Allagash River in northern Maine and took part in a number of road-races in both Maine and New Jersey. He also worked in a store specializing in running shoes and apparel. #Ah-Young Song Teaching Fellow in English Previously… graduated from Brown University, majoring in English. Is also… working in the fitness center. Is excited for… starting her first year as a teacher and creating a positive, fun environment for her students… and getting people excited about grammar. This summer… Song spent time in her home state of Delaware and saw old faces. She also took part in the ACE Program with 22 incoming Lowers. #Jiao Tie Teaching Fellow in Chinese Grew up… in Beijing, China, where she has lived her whole life. This is her first time in America. This summer… she traveled to Shanghai to spend time with her sister and nephew. Hopes to… travel to many parts of the world someday. #Taylor Washburn Teaching Fellow in Mathematics Graduated from… Princeton University with a B.A. in history. Came to Andover because… it’s an environment where he’s very comfortable in as a graduate of and in his opinion, the perfect place to ease the transition from college to real life. Excited… to teach high school age kids because there is a huge amount of growth that happens within the four years and it’s special to be a part of that. Is also…coaching crew rowing in the fall and spring and is a house counselor in Foxcroft Hall. This summer…Washburn took part in a live pig roast in Vermont. The community was invited, so everyone brought something ‘pot-luck’ style and a farmer brought a pig from his farm and roasted it.