When West’s newest social studies teacher, Aaron Bashirian, graduated from college and got his degree in history, it would be almost two decades before he got to use it. Instead, Bashirian pursued his...
Brinda Ambal, Conceptual Editor-in-Chief
• April 2, 2019
The hallway is silent and still except for the occasional wanderer in search of the water fountain. A second glance finds seniors Nell Jaskowiak and Deirdre Jost settled on the floor by the Latin room.
Jaskowiak...
After 14 years of educating, Spanish teacher Lauren Bernstein is leaving the field to pursue her new-found passion in SeneGence makeup and skincare sales. She started selling products for the company in...
Dani Fischer, MANAGING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
• March 8, 2018
We love our teachers, and to show them how much we admire them we commemorated them in starter pack-form. We gathered images that represent each person, as well as quotes, and put them in a quiz for all...
Pathfinder: What got you interested in teaching?
Symons: “I wanted to be a teacher since I was in high school. I realized I wanted to teach deaf and hard of hearing students, so I became a teacher...
What got you interested in teaching?
“I can’t say there was anything in particular. I played teacher/school as a kid. I think it was just always a passion and dream of mine.”
What class(es)...
Pathfinder: What is your job?
Hopkins: “I am a part-time French teacher. I do French I and French II, so I am here in the morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.”
What got you interested in teaching French?
“I...
Pathfinder: What got you interested in teaching?
Donaldson: "I had a few stand-out teachers in high school and college. What struck me is how they were able to take complex concepts, break them down...
What is your job? What do you do?
“I am a special education teacher. I help students learn by evaluating their current ability, creating and implementing appropriate interventions and providing accommodations...
Pathfinder: What got you interested in teaching?
Rose: “I have always wanted to be a teacher, as so many empowering women in my family have served as teachers. From playing school with my cousins...
![History teacher Aaron Bashirian plays a gig at a local fair in his hometown of Elroy, Wis. July 1998. “I would say [my music] is pop-y,” Bashirian said. “It’s a happy-go-lucky sort of pop. There are some rock elements to it but it really is just feel good, fun music.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Mr.-B-Photo-001-900x600.jpg)
![Writing Greek prose on the whiteboard, seniors Nell Jaskowiak and Deirdre Jost practice their letters and accents during their independent study. Taking Greek enables Jost to better prepare for a variety of possible futures, both through the content itself and the skills she retains. “Greek actually has a whole bunch of different accent marks which is not something you have in English,” Jost said. “I feel like I'd like to take [another] language, maybe Spanish or French, in the future and having learned the Greek language with different alphabets and different accent marks might make it easier to learn that language, whatever it may be.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/DSC_0002edited-1-900x600.jpg)
![Spanish teacher Lauren Bernstein promotes SeneGence tinted lotion to potential customers. After this year, Bernstein will be leaving the education field to pursue sales for these cosmetics. “This really provided an opportunity for me,” Bernstein said. “I do [feel empowered], both on the business sense of things and [the personal].”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Bernstein-makeup-900x600.jpg)
![Horn poses with her husband, her son Braydon and her daughter Mylah at Quail Ridge Park in Wentzville, MO. “I am married [to] a teacher and coach, and [we] have two kids," Horn said. "So when I say teaching is my passion, I am not lying...I have surrounded myself with education.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/horn-900x600.jpg)
![Technology and Engineering teacher Chris Donaldson helps senior Jack Fox during the Day of Code on December 6. Donaldson teaches three courses, all involving technology and engineering. “I am most excited to see students try new things, build skills and develop strengths they may not have previously realized they had," Donaldson said. "[I want] to build positive relationships with students and staff and to positively impact students’ attitudes toward STEM concepts, classes and career choices.”](https://pwestpathfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/donaldson-900x600.jpg)
