Difference Makers

This senior project has been on going in Publications 2-4 at the end of each of the last four years. While we believe all adults on campus are difference makers, these were selected by seniors for in depth interviews and additional coverage.

Final edits by Alec Pitts, 2019

Scott Bergemann..............................................................................4 Greg Benzel.......................................................................................5 Michelle DeMaria..............................................................................6 Sarah Blankenship............................................................................7 Mark Hardy.........................................................................................8 Kelly Harris.........................................................................................9 Abby Huber......................................................................................10 Jeffrey James...................................................................................11 Mary Jimenez...................................................................................12 Bill Kimmel......................................................................................13 Emily Mitchell...................................................................................14 Casey Nichols..................................................................................15 Pilar Padilla.......................................................................................16 Robyn Paterson...............................................................................17 Kathleen Patterson..........................................................................18 Dan Pereira.......................................................................................19 Jerica Siska.....................................................................................20 Alicia Perkins...................................................................................21 Amber Tillery...................................................................................22 Shawn Spiess..................................................................................23 Mike Trejo.........................................................................................24 Paul Werner.....................................................................................25 Craig Kaylor.....................................................................................26 Dale Eckenburg...............................................................................27 Tara McCullough.............................................................................28 Julianne Benzel...............................................................................29 James Grace...................................................................................30 Stephanie Arino...............................................................................31 Grant Depue....................................................................................32 Sarah Gillette...................................................................................33 Thomas Douglass.........................................................................34 Geoffrey Clarion.............................................................................35

because I only had him when he subbed for Mrs.Kenitzer last year but he would always go out of his way to teach us more and make sure we understood everything.”

SANJANA RAMANUJAM “At first he was a hard rader but I really respected him and loved his talks about the government everday.”

JESSICA VALVERDE “Bergie-man was such a good teacher! His enthusiasm and connection to the students coupled with each other made for the perfect combination in a teacher.”

MASON HARDY “He just really cares about his students, he goes above and beyond for them, he is passionate about what he eaches which helps students stay interested.”

ALEA SILVERA

scott BERGEMANN

Difference Makers | 4

Joey Petrissans, Sam Portello

O

utside of school, I’m passionate about politics and philosophy. I really enjoy reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos, and discussing that sort of stuff, so that’s what I spend much of my free time doing. Another thing im passionate about is swimming. I started swimming when I was four, and playing water polo when I was 13. I decided to coach because I still love playing and being around both sports, and I figured that since I’ve accumulated a decent amount of knowled about the sports, it just makes sense for me to coach them. I love being on the pool deck and being a part of the tightknit aquatics community.

In addition, I enjoy getting to know the athletes and watching them grow and improve.

It keeps me young and makes me feel old all at the same time! I also love pets and I have a dog, her name is Kutoa. When I was younger, I remember saying I wanted to be rich, but that aspiration quickly faded.

Other than that, I played around with the idea of being a professional athlete, or a cartoonist, or a writer, but I never really settled on a single profession. In fact, I’ve never wanted to be just one thing, I would prefer to have the freedom to dabble in lots of different things according to my curiosity at the time, so choosing a single career was tough. I think I like the

mountains and the beach the same amount, It’s a tie; I like it when the mountains are close to the ocean.

If I had to pick I’d probably choose the mountains, in which case rivers and lakes will suffice.Other than water polo, I really like basketball. It’s a great sport and I love the up-tempo feel to it. I love working out, but I don’t have a set routine. I try to work out on a regular basis, which can be tough during the school year with teaching and coaching. I enjoy playing sports for exercise, like basketball and water polo. I like lifting weights, especially olympic lifts. I love yoga! And I also like hiking, running, and swimming. To help with the working out I use a plant-based protein powder. My first time in faculty follies was awesome! I was genuinely surprised and impressed by the entire show. It was great to see how students To me, came out to watch and Bergemann is... support, we well as the way the staff executed the “A good teacher because entire performance. We he was funny but also taught didn’t have anything like us stuff which doesn’t really that at my high school, happen often.” so it was very cool to ISABEL GOODMAN experience.

“A really dedicated teacher

greg BENZEL

more than you can in school; you can What’s the best connect with people about Benzel? at a higher level. I love “He is a very enthusiastic football, but I also teacher and the way he talks love the challenge of makes everyone feel as if football, and athletics he’s their friend. He is a very in general. The personal guy and teacher, and demand of it is what I like that about him.” MASON makes it so great, HARDY and if you want to do something great, you “He is a very engaging have to put forth the teacher, he is also very clear effort of it. You have to and makes learning interesting learn the expectations for the students.” SHELBY from Rocklin High HICKOK School from athletics “He is very passionate about as well as academics. what he does and how I was asked to teach successful his students are.” the P.E. leadership MARC KLEMIN class about five years ago when Musky “He wants the best for his was juggling multiple students.” JACLYNN PINEIRO classes at once and he realized it was too much to handle. I’ve learned it gives you as an individual great perspective and you can see individuals with a whole bunch of challenges, and that makes you realize your challenges are not as bad as some others who go through these challenges they go through every single day. Seeing all of these kids enjoy themselves and watching them build success, and their development skills is very rewarding for both the students and me as well. The warmth of their smiles and the joy that they bring humbles you and keeps you more aligned, the way everything should be.”

Lexi Van Deman, Francki Scalmanini

I believe I get inspired to teach because I really like the idea of giving and making a difference in people’s lives. I had a teacher in high school who was highly respected and he really brought the best out of me and I thought that was really cool and also inspirational.

When you are in high school you are trying to figure out who you want to be and what you want to do, and he helped me and many other of my class mates realize that, and I wanted to do something like that with such a great impact. I know this sounds cliche, but as a person, we want our lives to matter and make it count, so I try to make a lot of relationships with people and make a big impact. I think the people at Rocklin High School are really cool and friendly, I love the people here. My colleagues and the students really make a difference. It is a pleasure for me to be able to come to school each day and hang out with such awesome students and people. I have had many great memories here at Rocklin and during my teaching career; I met my wife here, and I think that stands out the most, but it is really hard to define all my memories into one great memory here, because each year you can look at certain students or certain times in the year and see how powerful it really was. I would have to say that I think teaching has taught me a lot about history, because when you teach it, you learn more than when you learn it as a student, so I think my knowledge has grown in that aspect. When you do social science it is the study of people and how they interact with other people and the government, so I learn a lot about that and every time I go through another year and learn more about other people, and it helps me understand that I am learning more each and every year, and that never ends. I consider myself a life long learner I will never arrive at a place where I will stop learning. If I’m being straightforward, I wanted to be coach before I had the opportunity to teach, then I realized as I was going through all of that that I really enjoyed history, and now all of those things have equalled out; I want to coach as much as I want to teach students. Athletics challenges you so much, and it demands so much of you discipline-wise. Athletics puts the exclamation point on academics. A lot of students do not necessarily love school, but the sports connects them to the academics, so I just want to challenge these people as far as they can possibly go. I also like that you can build relationships through sports and raise the expectations

Difference Makers | 5

I

michelle DEMARIA What makes Mrs. DeMaria stand out to you?

“She always keeps class interesting; I know she works really hard to help her students as much as she can, and it pays off for them” KRISTEN FLOWERS “Her eccentric personality” SRINJAY VERMA “Her loud and bubbly personality that makes AP Bio memorable” TAYLOR MELCHIORI “Her laugh” BENJAMIN MANGELSDORF “The way that she finds a way to make connections between biology and life connections, and the way she cares for her students” KAYLA GIBSON “Her brutal honesty” ABE HORRILLO

And, when you’re not at school, enjoy yourself! That’s why I don’t like homework. So, when you’re here, say ‘The reason why I came to school today is to get my job done. For this I have come.’ Make the decision and get it done. Just say that. Say it every moment: ‘For this I have come.’ I think of myself when I look at it, and I ask myself ‘Why have I come to school today?’ I’m not here to waste my students’ time. I don’t think, though, when I come to school each day, that I want to make a difference in students’ lives every day. That’s not my goal here. I think that, if that is your goal, you’ll be easily distracted. What my job is is to teach the curriculum, do it well, teach kids to think, and I think, if I do my job well, then I can make a difference. It’s not like I show up every day going ‘I’m going to make a difference in every kid’s life,’ because I realize that not everybody’s going to like me and not everybody’s going to like my class. If a kid’s sitting in my class and they hate science, I get that; I don’t want to sit in a history class! It’s just one of those things I want them to know; I care about each student more as a person than I care about their grade in my class, but my goal isn’t to change you as a person, my goal is to help you through this class. That’s why I always say that the secret to happiness is doing the things you don’t want to do when you don’t want to do them. It’s self-discipline. Being able to delay happiness and not live for the moment will bring you longterm happiness and peace.”

Difference Makers | 6

Mason Hardy

always liked biology. That was my favorite class in high school, and then I saw an old movie that gave me my first inkling that I wanted to be a teacher, called ‘Summer School.’ The guy was a horrible teacher, and didn’t want to teach summer school, but his principal said he had to; he was mad because he just wanted to surf and go to the beach, and I was like, ‘I kind of get that.’

So, leaving high school and going to college, I was like ‘Teaching would be a pretty great job if you could have summers off.’ From the beginning, it wasn’t so much about loving kids and wanting to teach kids, but, over time, it’s evolved into ‘I love biology and I want kids to love biology.’ At first, I was going to be a P.E. teacher, but I went down to the counselor at college and the person said ‘You’ll never get a job. P.E. teachers are a dime a dozen. If you like P.E., you would probably

like biology.’ I thought ‘I love biology,’ and in the ‘80s there weren’t a whole lot of female science teachers. I changed my major to biology and I loved biology so much that then I wanted everyone to love biology as much as I do. To me, it didn’t happen like ‘I like connection with students, therefore I want to be a teacher.’ That wasn’t the initial reason; I didn’t know I liked students. My first job was teaching 8th grade in Vallejo. After one year teaching junior high in Vallejo, I knew I didn’t want to teach junior high. Then, I moved here and started teaching the second year of the school. This was a pretty awesome place to teach. One of my favorite quotes is ‘Once you know what your purpose is, making decisions is easy.’ So if you decide ‘My purpose is to do this,’ or ‘My purpose is to do that,’ then you can know what you should do next. That’s why, when you’re at school, do your work!

sarah

BLANKENSHIP I

“Sportsmanship” NICOLE FRANZ “Organized” TAYLOR DAVIDSON “Energetic” ORIANA NEVAREZ “Invested” ALYSSA MOSS “Passionate” KATE PHILIPS “Dedicated” SYDENY BROWN “Professional” HALEY ROMIG “Youthful” ALEXANDER HILL “Caring” BRETT HAYS “Motivating” CATHERINE RAINEY

college, I realized that if I was a studio owner, that the hours would not be beneficial when I wanted to start a family.

That’s when I decided to switch altogether and get my elementary teaching credential while still always being involved in dance and teaching dance at studios and choreographing for dance teams. I look forward to my students when I come to work because I am fortunate in that, by teaching P.E and dance electives, each student has chosen to be in the class. I feel that they are happy to be there and look forward to dancing. I look forward to sharing that joy with them, it’s so fun; we have music, wonderful student directors.

It’s just wonderful. I bring positive energy to my classes. I try to making learning fun and try to create a supportive and positive environment to allow students to dance and express themselves and make a happy atmosphere. I make the most difference with students who are brand new to dance, who have never danced before. Many are possibly taking the class just for fun, maybe they’re athletes and they never would take a dance class normally, and I think that giving them the opportunity and sharing what I know is beneficial to them.

Difference Makers | 7

Brooke Kenney

have loved my experience a RHS. I always tell my friends and family that I can’t believe I get paid and I always write to Mrs. Huber, we’re always in contact saying ‘we have the best job!’ It has been a very rewarding, wonderful, positive experience.

Mrs. Huber and I went to college together. We were sorority sisters and we were on the dance team together. We got back in touch about six years ago and she reached out letting me know she was wanting to go part time and she knew that I was a teacher. I majored in dance but then I had my elementary teaching credentials so I taught second grade for two years and pre-kindergarten for three years but I’ve had my dance supplementation because I was a dance major so I had all those units and so when Mrs. Huber told me she wanted to go part time, we realized that I just needed to get a credential in P.E. So that is how I came to be at Rocklin High, it all just perfectly aligned. My childhood dream was to always open a dance studio. I was a studio dancer from ages three to high school. I was in the studio five days a week and was a competition dancer so I thought that’s what I wanted to do. Then, during my senior year in

Blankenship in a word

I

think as a teacher I try to have consistently high energy and I really try to communicate that I care about students as people, which may not be true for all teachers. I try to make learning enjoyable for students. My dad influenced me to become a teacher because he was a high school teacher for 39 years and was really an enthusiastic one, so I constantly strive to be like him. To be effective, I try to build a positive atmosphere by having interaction and greeting people at the door, which I think is huge. I also like to add in fun little activities into lectures and make it fun for my students to learn. When I was in high school, I was a very stereotypically good student, being the valedictorian in a pretty small high school. High school back then was less rigorous, so I really didn’t spend a ton of time on homework, though. I played football, basketball, and track all four years. My favorite games to be in were football games because of the intensity, but my favorite to play overall was basketball just because I also enjoyed practices, whereas football practices were brutal. I think what the students consistently communicate to me is that they appreciate how much I want to be here and how much I care about them, which I believe is one thing that makes me unique. I love my job, especially because of the opportunities I get to impact my students’ lives in a positive way. Outside of teaching, my number one activity to take part in is fly fishing, which includes hiking out in remote places. My number two would probably be basketball. I also love to worship at church, as well as teach and learn the Bible. If I wasn’t a teacher, I would definitely be a pastor. My life hero is Jesus Christ, in terms of wanting to develop my own character and constantly striving to be like him in the way of loving and prioritizing other people above myself. I also admire Bill Gates and Warren Buffet because they are extremely philanthropic and smart with their money, and use that money to influence other people’s lives. My favorite part about Rocklin High is the relationships with the students and teachers. The teachers and I have a great amount of support for one another. If I had one word to describe my teaching, I would use enthusiastic.

In one word, Mr. Hardy is...

“Ecstatic” Grayson Romig “Enthusiastic” Serene Tarazi “Passionate” Lauren Tracy “Dedicated” Kyle Watkins “Inspiring” Cole Brown “Stylish” Joey Petrissans

Difference Makers | 8

Alyssa Brown, Kyle Watkins

mark HARDY

esides being a counselor, my family is very important to me. I have two kids, one is seven and one is five. They are really funny and ridiculous. They make me laugh, and they drive me crazy at the same time. But I love sharing the experiences with them, teaching them lessons, and showing the world to them. When I was a kid, I used to spend seven weeks of summer with my dad in Maine. We would run around the lake, hang out with my cousins, and have a huge cookout. It’s where the majority of my family lives, so I could visit them and have a lot of fun without having too much stress. I would say that my grandmother has been my biggest influence since childhood. She had already gone to school to get a Ph.D. in psychology, but she continued to practice as a clinical psychologist until she turned 90. She loved to travel around the world, and she even took me to Nepal and Thailand. She was really generous, providing services to those who cannot afford it, getting them the mental health help. Everywhere she went, she was interested in learning about people, culture, and experiencing the way other peoples lived. I would like

to follow in my grandmother’s footsteps. I have definitely continued the travel, but maybe not as hard-core as she did it. I do want to make sure that my kids get to see and experience places that are very different than where we live as well, so they can understand the different perspective, in order to be grateful for their life. So, passing that to my next generation is really important to me as well. I wasn’t always set on being a counselor. Right out of college, I was a substitute teacher for a while, but then I always struggled with whether I wanted to go into business and marketing, or education. There wasn’t a subject that I was super passionate about teaching, so I couldn’t really figure it out, though I loved working with kids and with students. For the first seven years after college, I worked for UC Davis, doing sales and marketing for them. I traveled all around the country, which, in some ways, it was really exciting, being able to meet with so many new people, visiting different cities, but I did not feel there was a meaning to my job. I didn’t feel like I was making a difference to anybody. Then, I realized my favorite part of working with UC Davis was working with students, which had nothing to do with sales and marketing. That’s when I decided to go back and pursue becoming a school counselor. It was a great decision for me, because it was along the lines of something that I was passionate about doing. I love being a counselor because I really do care.

I love working with students. The most rewarding thing for my job is when kids no longer need to come see me anymore. I think since this is my first graduating class, the thing has been most amazing to me is just remembering sitting with students in their most dark and most challenging times. Seeing where they were at that point in their lives, seeing them change, evolve, and grow into someone who is stronger, and is more resilient. And that’s the most impactful thing that I have experienced. Just note that not only me, but all the counselors want students to understand that we care about each and every one of you, and are more than happy to help you out during the high school journey.

I am a Counselor, and I am also a...

Diet Coke enthusiast Egg white-hater UC Davis Alumni A country girl from Winters, California Difference Makers | 9

Kaitlin Stutts, Sehyeon Park

kelly HARRIS

B

abby HUBER

this country at schools, and Rocklin High School is one in a million. Teachers come and go, administrators come and go, kids come and go, everyone comes and goes, but it has always been that the expectations for the students are so high--that they care, that they’re kind, that they’re respectful-and that makes this a special place. The fact that I get to do what I love and be somewhere where everyone around me is wonderful. I’m very lucky. I taught dance for two years before I became coach for the dance team, and that has been amazing. I love coaching; I’m back to coaching after two years of being the advisor, and it has been only one day of auditions and I’m already dying, so excited. As I look back on my career at Rocklin High School, I would definitely say coaching has been one of the highlights. Also, there have been a few times when I would get emails back from students that graduated years ago. A couple of them are students that I was very close to, through student directing or being captains of the dance team, and a couple have been students that I had a very surface-level relationship with, like if they were in one of my beginning classes one time. To hear that I had an influence on them in a very specific way that, so many years later, moved them to actually write to me means a lot. I keep those and print them out and keep them in a special drawer in my desk that I look at on hard days. I think the biggest difference between Rocklin and other schools is that the teachers here care more! It’s hard for me to say because I have had a lot of experience teaching dance at a lot of schools across the country, but I don’t have a lot of experience interacting with the academic teachers. However, from the time I started in 2006, I remember just being shocked beyond belief at my first staff meeting because I kept thinking, ‘I wonder if my high school teachers actually cared this much.’ There are so many things that would be so much easier if they didn’t care as much, like mastery learning; if we didn’t care as much, we would just say, ‘Sorry dude, you got an F. Peace out, good luck. Here’s your test, you don’t get to retake it.’ It would be so much easier! But we don’t, because there’s an inherent philosophy that we just cannot give up on kids. That’s the only reason why you would do it. We aren’t doing it for the money; we do it because we care.

Difference Makers | 10

Andrea Valentini

I

started teaching dance when I was fourteen because the owner of my studio got pregnant and was on bed rest unexpectedly for nine months. I was an assistant teacher for a lot of classes; it was a transition period for the business.

She didn’t have anyone to teach a bunch of classes, so at age fourteen I was teaching around 20 classes a week, and that’s how I started teaching dance. When I was in high school, I transferred to Napa High School for my junior and senior years because I wanted to be on the dance team there. That was the first time I realized dance could be taught in high school. My coach and dance teacher is still someone I talk to monthly, and she was the most amazing and inspiring woman I’ve ever met. She made me realize that dance could be so much more than technique in a room, and I learned so many life lessons from her. She inspired me to want to teach dance in schools. I was an academic person.

I was planning on becoming a pediatrician; I was going to use my brain to make money; that was my plan. But when I was a senior in high school, my dad got really, really sick, and it totally changed my perspective on life. I thought, ‘You know, my passion in life is dance.’

I did some professional dancing and I love teenagers, so I thought I would teach. Dance is my thing. It has always been my thing. Hopefully, everyone goes through life and sometime in their life How would you they find their thing, and I was lucky enough to find describe Huber?

“Sparkly” TAYLOR NIEMI mine when I was young.

“Strong” KAYLA AUSTEFJORD I’m 35, and it’s still my “Enthusiastic” SIENA TOM thing, so the fact that I get “Bubbly” ELLA SCHWASNICK to earn my living doing “Bright” MARISSA CASSAYRE my thing and not doing “Energetic” CAROLINE something else that I don’t CAMACHO “Positive” EMILY love is something that I OWENSBY “Exuberant” KENZIE never take for granted.

MURPHY “Extra, in a good way” BROOKE KENNEY “Dedicated” So many people on this earth don’t get to do their SOPHIE SANDOVAL “Thoughtful” CAITLYN KAN thing and get paid for “Passionate” PAIGE HOLLOWAY it, which makes what I “Diligent” MEGAN DAVIDSON do so amazing. But I’ve taught teenagers all over the world, and all over

jeffrey JAMES

MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT MR. JAMES IS...

“The wonder in his eyes; whenever he sees something it’s like he’s seeing it for the first time” ZACH COX “I love how he yells at us but never actually gets mad” KENDALL THOMPSON “I love his positivity and enthusiasm during class. He makes it fun” ELLIE RUSS “His relaxed attitude makes class less stressful and more enjoyable” MADDIE GROSSMANN “I love his attitude and how he can recite Shakespeare by heart” ASHLEY GRAVES “I love how much he cares about each individual person. I have never felt more important in a class” SOPHIE RAU “I love how he loves what he does so much and knows every detail about literature” COLE BROWN “I love how he has a very calm and positive attitude; he is definitely a teacher I will always remember and tell stories about” LEXI VANDEMAN “I just love how he makes class exciting, but at the same time, he gives us time to breathe and de-stress” SHANE KUMARARATNE “I like how he views student’s perspective before assigning work and tell you the plan ahead of time, along with the joy he brings to class” ARJAN CHAHAL “I love how he is always so excited, and whenever he has someone do something in class he has the biggest smile on” NICK CONDUFF “Mr. James is always patient and really engaging with his classes. He energizes everyone and is always smiling” JACOB SANCHEZ “My favorite thing about Mr. James is his love for his students. He is patient and shows he cares about every one of us. He makes learning fun” BRENA VIDELL “My favorite thing about Mr. James is his outlook on life, which is filled with more curiosity and passion than most people” NICK KANDRIS

Difference Makers | 11

Sophie Rau, Emily Watson

I

have often thought it would be interesting to be a master gardener or landscape architect or forest ranger, or maybe open an awesome record shop, book shop, or tea shop, but I knew I loved literature and I wanted to do something where I could be creative and could make an impact in terms of helping others, so teaching seemed like a nice fit. I began teaching in 1996, which was the first graduating class of RHS! I truly love our whole staff. I have never met so many brilliant, crazy, wonderful, helping, caring, and inspiring people. RHS is a special place and we are all very lucky. My ultimate goal as a teacher is to have my students be able to think for themselves. I want to provide support and tools to facilitate students to take charge of their own learning, ask their own questions, make their own decisions, learn from their own mistakes, celebrate their success, and become passionate and curious. I see it as my goal to create an environment where some of those things can happen. Throughout my years of teaching, I’ve learned that all of my students have a story. Don’t make assumptions.

Listening is more important than talking. Every class is filled with experts of many different kinds. Plan to improvise. Try to be in the moment, and embrace surprises. I went to college at UC Davis for my BA and San Francisco State for my MA and teaching credential. One of my favorite classes at Davis was “Literature of Wilderness” with guest lectures by the poet Gary Snyder. I have degrees in political science and English literature. When I am not teaching, I love to read, play guitar, garden, and take long walks in the American River Canyon with my dogs.”

to the students they compete Question? with. I don’t think that’s healthy.

I think it’s more about how we stick together. In the good times and in the not-so-good times, we still have a sense of community.

I think it’s really cool to see how many my students show support for each other in the classroom, in sports, in the rallies and even in the parking lot when someone steals your spot. Overall, Rocklin

IN ONE WORD, MRS. JIMENEZ IS...

“Ambitious”

MORGAN WALTMAN “Caring”

ALINA GONZALEZ “Fun”

ORIANA NEVAREZ “Spontanious”

ISAIAH GARCIA “Loving”

JORDAN TRESSLER “Hilarious”

KRIS WUELFING “Understanding”

GABRIEL CONTRERAS “Awesome” CALEB BANKS “Relatable” MARISSA KALE “Hip” JADYN BREIEN High School has been very “Patient” ELLA SCHWASNICK positive, challenging and it’s never boring. There’s always a “Kind” ABBY MANGELSDORF lot going on. I like that every year “Goofy” there’s something new going on.”

BELLA MCMILLIN “Pineapple” AVERY ELLIS

mary JIMENEZ

Difference Makers | 12

Rachel Domaradski

I

n high school, I cared about my grades because I knew that I wanted to do more than just graduate high school. I knew I wanted to get out of my neighborhood, and education was going to be my only way out. At that time, my high school had a lot of problems and not enough resources. Every day, my teachers had to worry about gangs, drugs, fights and their own safety, among other issues.

They would spend most of the period dealing with behavior and didn’t have time to go beyond the surface level of their lesson. Also, they seemed to really dislike the students and their job! I would go through my textbooks and teach myself the content but my friends didn’t or couldn’t. They needed help and it was really hard to watch them struggle and watch as the teachers let them fail. So I started tutoring my friends after school and during my TA period. After a few weeks, I saw them start to improve academically and gain confidence about their abilities in the classroom. It made me recognize that if I could help myself and help my friends, then maybe I could help others.

I strongly believe that all students need to have a variety of learning opportunities and support from their teachers. They need someone that can teach them the skills that go beyond classwork and test scores. They need someone that cares about their overall success and happiness in life. How? I don’t know exactly, but I’m still trying to do it every day.

I was initially attracted to Rocklin High School’s academic standards. I had heard of Mastery Learning and I was excited to be a part of it. The ability to streamline Essential Skills, reteach and retest was perfect for my style of teaching. Once I met the rest of the staff members and my students, I was sold.

My students are the reason why I want to come to work every day. I hate missing work because I worry that they will need my help, need to talk to me about something or that they might not have anyone else to check in on them that day. Also, my colleagues are pretty awesome and I miss them whenever I don’t see them. The advice that I would give to my students is to create your own opportunities. Don’t wait for something amazing to happen to you. Be your own boss. You’re young right now and you have to do a lot of things you don’t want to do, but just know that all these things are going to help you get somewhere in life. Have fun! Too many of my students put pressure on themselves academically and compare themselves

bill KIMMEL

Why do you love Mr. Kimmel?

selfless. You can tell how much he loves his job and how passionate he is about teaching.”

BRENDEN HOWARD “Bill Kimmel is a great man for many reasons, one of which is that he really cares about the environment. He buys from brands that really support the environment. I think he is really smart and doesn’t preach for no reason. He backs up what he preaches and really cares about his students. I respect how he cares more about learning than the grades.”

COLTON GRAVES

Difference Makers | 13

Becca Bernstein, Trevor Pontes

W

hen I left high school, I wanted to be a doctor. I went all the way through college and got a biology pre-med degree. Then, my older brother became a doctor. I saw how much it was costing him to go to medical school, the loans he was taking out, and the lifestyle that he had and I realized that it wasn’t for me.

Whenever I did any of those personality surveys in high school, and even in college, my one and two results were always teaching and nursing.

At that point, I pretty much decided it was going to be one of those two and fell into teaching and loved it. If I wasn’t doing that, I’d be a nurse, I think. My biggest joys in life are my family and children. As for my biggest challenge, that’s tough. Obviously, I’ve been very fortunate in almost everything. I think raising kids is a challenge. Just in general you want to give them everything, but sometimes in giving them everything sometimes you’re not giving them skills.

The concept of raising children is not easy. My teaching philosophy has changed over time for sure. I believe that all students can learn and that I will never give up on them.

I was a great student in science, but not a great student in other subject areas. So, I think that helped guide my thinking that sometimes learning takes work and it’s not just that you’re smart or you’re not smart. The ability to work hard is really important. Not always being the greatest student helped me think about, learn and develop my philosophy.

I think the most important lesson adults and students can learn is that you can’t do things on your own. You have to learn the skill of asking for help because that ability to ask for help is, in my opinion, one of the number one skills that you can have for success. There’s mentors, there’s friends, and there’s family, and having that support will always mean you’ll outperform what you would’ve done if you were just trying to do it on your own. The hardest lesson is when people make mistakes. I think a lot of students and adults feel like the

mistake is the end, when a lot of times it is the beginning. It’s the lesson that you made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to judge you or give up on you. It doesn’t mean that that mistake is going to define you and the rest of your life. It’s important to overcome that, but it is not always an easy lesson because I don’t think people always think that way, and it takes time to get past the mistake. I don’t think [my life philosophy] is that much different. I think the same lesson is there. That’s a lesson that is just as big and just as important as an adult: asking for help like a student. Adults are really bad at that. We are really conflict avoiders, and the older you get the less likely you are to go to the doctor, the less likely you are going to take care of the important things, even though it’s just as important. I’m not good at any of those things. I just know that’s part of my belief system. The most important lesson I could learn, I haven’t learned yet, but you can’t do everything. Sometimes it is better to say no and be good at a few things than to say yes and be terrible at everything.

So sometimes I fall into that category of saying yes and decreasing my “You can tell he really cares performance in all areas, and is really genuine regarding as opposed to saying no what he does.” and being better prepared LAURA MARANTA at the things that I’m “He is a very caring person doing. and he is very genuine and

ow did you first start working at Rocklin? I was moving up here to the Sacramento area from Santa Cruz and Rocklin was the first interview I had. I knew it was a good school district and was happy to get the job.

What’s one thing you think makes a difference on this campus? Most of the teachers are here because they like what they do and really want to make a difference. Also, as a staff we like each other. This makes a big difference in our campus culture.

What’s your favorite thing about Rocklin? The school spirit and the support of the people I work with every day. I also enjoy the students that I teach but each year the students change and my co-workers stay. Activities like Faculty Follies and flash mobs make this a great place to be.

Why do you enjoy coming to Rocklin every day? I really love what I do. All of it, the good times and the hard times. When you can say that, coming to work is easy and fun.

What’s one thing you would change and one thing you would never change about the school? I would never want to change the idea that we are a mastery learning school. We have modified this over the years, but try to stay true to our roots. What would I change? I can’t think of anything right now. Rocklin is an amazing school and an amazing place to be and there’s nothing i would do to change that.

How do you imagine Rocklin in the next 5 years? I think we will have more choices for students in the next 5 years that are not necessarily just a college pathway. That is exciting - to have career choices right after graduation where students can be able to experience other things in life.

What’s one thing you want students to take away from Rocklin High School as they graduate? Sometimes what we teach is not about the content. We teach how to think, strategies, and life skills that students will use when they leave us. I hope that as students leave they can take away something more than just the content we teach.

“Enthusiastic” COLE ANDERSON “Motivating” MAX LENING “Kind” RACHEL DOMARADSKI “Helpful” ANDREIA KEANE “Pasionate” NOAH DYSON “Ambitious” SYDNEY O’ROURKE “Selfless” GRAHAM BART “Exciing” NICK VANLIEW “Fun” GARET RUFFNER “Considerate” GISELLE KILLIAN “Empathetic” SAVANNA MORALES “Persistent” ABBEY CONNELL

“An interesting fact about me is that my son plays rugby.”

EMILY MITCHELL

Difference Makers | 14

Morgan Waltman

H

emily MITCHELL

What word describes Mrs. Mitchell?

casey NICHOLS

In one word, Mr. Nichols is...

easy in journalism, but it is something that I work on every day with myself “Passionate” and it’s something I want

JADYN BREIEN my students to work on “Wise” too. I like the diversity

ISAIAH GARCIA of personalities we get “Accepting” in student media. We’re

ALEC PITTS maybe not as culturally “Compassionate” diverse as I would like.

ALLY MARANTA We do have very diverse “Encouraging” personalities, students

MADI HAYDN-MYER who come from different “Straight-up” groups bond and form

JACLYNN PINEIRO “Calm “ friendships that they

SIENA TOM might not otherwise.

“Supportive” That makes me really

NATASHA HENMI happy, the dancers with “Understanding” the nerds, the athletes

BEN JAQUISH with the music nerds. I love that. It comes from a core belief that if you know someone’s story, it’s hard to judge them.

So we need to learn to listen to stories and be open to share them.

When you know someone on that level, it’s pretty hard to be judgemental against them or prejudiced against them.

Everyone’s got one, everyone’s got more than one. So if we can learn to understand each other it’ll make it a better world, our world needs it, our country needs it, and our school needs it. It’ll create a more cohesive and understanding society, I know thats a huge goal, but you’ve gotta do it in little chunks. One piece at a time. Anybody that has been with me for two or more years understands the concept that everyone has a story or multiple stories, some are funny some are odd and some tragic or challenging but that there is always something beyond the surface and they’re gonna learn that loud and clear. One of the things I love about journalism is that we grow every year. Yes, I think there’s a strong culture built in. the story teller culture, the relaxed atmosphere. I hope the school continues to appreciate what it has in a strong student media program.

Jacob Mead

I

t’s hard to single out any one person that has made a difference in my life because it changes by the part of my life you’re talking about. I would say the biggest person professionally is my professor that I was an aide for at Ball State University when I was completing my Master’s. Her name was Marilyn Weaver. She is one of the brightest people I’ve ever known and probably as much of a perfectionist as anyone I’ve ever known and yet allowed me to learn, pushed and nudged me and really taught me what it was like to be an outstanding journalism educator. She probably has the greatest impact on me as a professional. I believe that journalism is a life skill. I think the real essential skills are learning how to learn; how to talk, how to listen, how to research, how to communicate, how to be curious, how to wonder about the world. Be a risk taker. Failure is not a bad thing. As long as nobody gets hurt. When something doesn’t work, we analyze and we fix it. That applies everywhere in your life. To me the most important skills that we teach in journalism are the life skills. We teach hard skills like design and using programs, but problem solving and social skills apply to the rest of your life. I feel like the kids really own the yearbook and the magazine. They feel like it’s theirs. It’s really important to me that it is their project and not mine.

The students I do stay in touch with outside of school universally will say that the things that they learned in journalism or student media help them in their life. I think it has an impact and prepares them better for what is to come. They’re better prepared than the average student. I believe that the student media program can help create part of a culture of inclusiveness, and certainly we have tried to do that in recent years. Teaching empathy and understanding is something we should all be doing, it’s very

Difference Makers | 15

pilar PADILLA

How would you describe Padilla?

“Eccentric, spunky and bold” VEDA LELCHOOK “Passionate, energetic and creative” AUDREY MAYER

the end of a rope all the time, so I had to schedule my time off too and make “Animated and very relatable to the sure that I did everything students” when they weren’t there EMELYN DIZON so when they were there I was present. At UCSC, I “Witty and has a only wanted to be there for sarcastic sense of two days so I took classes humor” from 8 to 2 so I could be KRISTEN SMYTH home when they were, and by the end I was like, “I got this.” I sewed, so I worked in my garage at home and I worked whenever I wanted to, but I made a lot of money. I never had a dryer so all my clothes I washed and hung to dry, I made all [of my kids’] food organically. All of it was just kind of ingrained in me. I was raised with the brown bread, and “recycle, reduce, reuse” were my three R’s growing up. Having kids has been the most impactful experience on my teaching, like being a parent and what it means to be a parent. And doing the grad work. Now that I’ve done all this I cannot believe you can get a teaching credential without a counseling class. If you’re going to be working with kids, you need to know what it means to counsel. Every little interaction, making sure I understand you and your whole place right now as a person, matters. We expedite, we just get generic, but it just really helps you go ‘Who are you and what do you need from me right now?’ Kids are dealing with some intense stuff at home and with the total insecurity of self-discovery.”

Austin Michael, Alex McKinley

I

think the thing that stresses me out most is social and humanitarian issues, like making sure everyone has access to everything and that we’re not discriminating. I’m technically Mexican and they could send me over the border, but my family’s been living in New Mexico for like 300 years. The ignorance that goes around all of that makes me crazy. That did make me want to work with kids. It really felt like a calling. I fought it for a long time, but I knew that I was already a teacher, I just didn’t know if that’s what I wanted to do. My mom left when I was little, so I was mostly raised by my dad and my grandmother and she’s all Mexican, so it was all tortillas and tamales. But she wasn’t around either, and neither was my dad, so [my siblings and I] were pretty much feral. I’ve been diagnosed by two different therapists as feral.

I didn’t have anything, but my dad was very conservative because they were very Catholic, so I was raised with a lot of that. Both of my parents are also very open to anybody.

I always knew when I was a kid that no matter what color, shape or size, if you walked in our door, you were 100 percent valid. I went through a full on brainwashing. My four years of marriage were a full on patriarchy. The only thing that got me through was that I was raised pretty independent so I was able to get up and get myself through school and I don’t think many people could have done that. I feel pretty lucky that I did, and I want to make sure other people can get themselves out of that situation too because I was raised in an environment where I knew other answers, but many people don’t. It’s really what you’re exposed to. I guess that’s my plight. My grandmother is probably my biggest influence.

Her and Maya Angelou. [My grandmother] has got some grit. She raised her siblings and then her kids and then her grandkids. She was kind of mean and angry, but man she got it done. The only thing that got me through was her. I model myself after her. My catharsis happened when my kids’ dad had left for like four months. I didn’t know where he was, didn’t have money and we were in debt. I had these two kids, I had a car, no education, and I was sitting there like ‘What am I gonna do and what can I do?’ And I kept thinking, ‘What do I want to do?’ And I kept trying to override what I should do with what I want to do. And I remember thinking ‘I want to be a counselor or I want to be a teacher,’ and both of them required school, so I’m thinkin’ ‘Dang, how am I gonna do school and raise these kids and have a house and a job?’

And then I decided I wanted to do teaching and that was a big moment. I remember thinking, ‘There’s no way! How am I going to do it?’ But I was like, ‘I don’t care; I’m just going to do it,” and I did. I knew what I was doing all the time, and it was always a priority that my kids didn’t know how ragged I was. I really wanted them to feel like their mom wasn’t at

Difference Makers | 16

Robyn Paterson M

rs. Paterson continues her 19-year streak at Rocklin High School, teaching language arts and, occasionally, about cats! “All of my students know that I am a lover of cats! I enjoy teaching about cats anytime I can.” Famously known as “the cat lady” in Rocklin High School, Paterson partakes in a very interesting interview that delves deeper into her occupation, her passions, as well as fun facts about herself!

W

hy did you want to become a teacher?

“I wanted to be a teacher because I really enjoy teenagers. I didn’t want to work with adults because I find adults very phony. So, to me, teenagers are just in that sweet spot where they haven’t been told what to think so much by society, they still think for themselves, and are willing to express those opinions.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MRS. PATERSON? “Mrs. Paterson is definitely one of my favorite teachers. She truly believes in helping the students. She’s also one of the most interesting characters at Rocklin which allows her to proudly say that she is the cat lady.” RILEY WHITELAW

W

hy language arts?

“I love to write.

I love the craftsmanship of words and how you can put words together in such a way to have effective sentences and that is my passion: the crafting of writing.”

“Mrs. Paterson is a nice teacher. She loves cats a lot.”

ARJUN SINGH “She’s a great teacher with an obsession with cats.” MEDHA DANDAMUDI

W W

hat’s the worst part about your job?

“The worst part about my job is the pressure to pass students given our current system without having the necessary support systems in place to really bring them up to have a mastery of the skills.”

C

an you let us in about your education and the process of becoming a teacher?

“First, of course, I went to college and got my degree in Language arts and then I went through the one-year teaching program at Sacs State. During that program, I had to teach at a middle school. So I first taught at a middle school and then I taught at Foothill High School. I had a really great Master teacher there.

One of them never saw me teach, but the other one made up for everything because he was really great Master teacher and he was in the classroom everyday and gave me really good feedback. It was a little intimidating because I was very young, given that I was 22. I had a class of seniors so it was kind of intimidating because, really, those were the people who were kind of within my age group. So that was a little nervewracking, but then when I got my first job I didn’t have to teach seniors so that was nice!”

“A fun fact about me is that my husband and I met through the [Bengal] cats and he’s from Scotland. He moved over here to be with me!”

ROBYN PATERSON Difference Makers | 17

Jane Lee, Jean Lee

hat’s the best part about your job?

“The best part about my job is the daily interactions with the students. So, I love when the kids, you know, kinda let me in to their lives a little bit and share with me, and I get to know them as people.”

sons, Michael, Matthew, and Daniel who all graduated from Rocklin High school as valedictorians. I love what I do and I love highschool students the most. I’ve done everything from preschool to college except for middle school. High school is my favorite because the students are able to have conversations and are much more mature. Also, a lot of the students are eager to learn and have strong minds coming into and leaving high school. My motivation to teach would be students who want to put out effort, especially if they struggle and their still trying and pushing to get it done, it makes me want to work harder. One of my goals in life would be to travel the world. My first stop would be Peru to an ancient ruin, my husband and I are going in about a year and a half.

I really want to go to Egypt, England, Greece, Pompa and Rome, but honestly the list could go on forever.

We have decided to take it one trip at a time, but I am very excited for the future and what it has in store for my husband and I. My three sons all graduated from Rocklin High School as valedictorians. My oldest, Matthew, is 35. He now is a senior engineer at Google. He lives in the Bay Area. Michael is 32. He is now living in Virginia. He has a doctorate in experimental pathology. He deals in a level 4 lab working with things like ebola. He just had a baby and also a another child. My youngest son, Daniel, is now a data analyst in the Bay Area.”

Who is Mrs. Patterson to you?

“She really breaks down every lesson so that you are able to understand it which is unlike any teacher I have had before. I feel like this is the most successful year of math for me and it is all thanks to her willingness to help.”

JASMINE BECK “She is very enthusiastic about math. No matter what the atmosphere or the mood is in the classroom, she always goes up to the board and has a smile on her face. She also always has a lot of really good techniques to remember equations and formulas.”

ALLISON GERBER “She gave me a lot of math tips and tricks. She was always so happy and helped me with all my math problems. One of the best math teachers I have ever had.”

EMILY OWENSBY “Mrs. Patterson is a really good teacher one on one. When I come in on my own time I get so much done and she really breaks every thing down for me to understand.”

LIZ KUKURYAK

kathleen PATTERSON

Difference Makers | 18

Andrea Valentini, Mason Hardy

I

have a husband, three sons, and three grandchildren. I spend a lot of time with them when I am not working. I am also a quilter and I knit and crochet. I love to quilt and knit. Lately I have been doing baby stuff, like baby blankets, baby hats, baby booties, and baby sweaters.

I make baby gifts for everybody in the family and for my friends. I learned how to knit and quilt at a young age. My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was about 6 years old. I taught myself how to crochet when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Then, my mother taught me how to sew when I was 10 years old. And I have just never stopped.

It is relaxing for me. I cannot watch TV because I just do not like seeing what is on the news, I just use it as background noise when I knit. I actually started teaching as a special needs teacher right out of college. I taught for specials needs for about 10 years. Then I rediscovered math.

Math has always came easily to me and I have always enjoyed it. So I rediscovered it when my children were born and while I was helping them with homework I found I still loved it. After I took ten years off, I went back to school and did all my college math again. I actually think I am a better teacher because I had children and I have delt with three

I

didn’t actually think about teaching as a career until my junior year of college. My senior year of high school, when I did a little bit of volunteer work as a tutor, that was kind of the first step that initially inspired me. For me, selfishly, it felt good, but I also felt like I was making an impact. At the time, language arts was a subject I really enjoyed. Even when I declared as an english major, I went in with a journalism emphasis; I actually wanted to be a sports writer. Once I realized how stressful and hectic that was going to be and the hours, I really started thinking about teaching. What I love about my job is that, even though the literature I teach to my classes is the same, I always have students who bring up something maybe I didn’t see or they notice something that I didn’t notice. They’ll bring up something that’s interesting and I think that is really cool. I’ve enjoyed so many students that bring new perspectives. Then of course, being a coach for 19 years, I have such good memories with the runners, especially the ones I have kept in contact with. I’ve learned that patience is really important; teaching has made me a lot more patient, which is a great thing. What I love is that it makes me realize more so that everyone has a story, and it has really taught me to get to know people a little bit more.

We all naturally are going to have those initial judgements about someone, but teaching has made me get to know people, know their story, know where they are coming from, and not be critical or quick to judge.

In one word, Mr. Pereira is...

“Caring”

SYDNEY O’BRIEN “Compassionate” JORDAN HENSON “Inspiring” POLINA PUDOVA “Dedicated” ANNE FEY “Awesome” ELLE KNORZER “Supportive” EMMA SILVA “Devoted” ALYSSA TREMBLAY “Sympathetic” BRENDAN DOWLING “Passionate” JACOB POLIVKA “Thrilling” SHANE BURTON

Avery Arneson

dan PEREIRA

Difference Makers | 19

jerica SISKA

How would you describe Mrs. Siska in one word?

because of the fact that the teachers really care about the students; it’s not like we come and clock “Determined” EMILY JOHNSTON in and clock out “Awesome” ANDY BURGE and we don’t care “Enthusiastic” CAMILO ORTIZ about the students.

“Caring” BRIGHTLYN JOHNSON I’m sure there “Exuberant” KORBY JACKSON are teachers who “Silly” AMANDA KIRK are like that, but “Enthusiastic” BECCA WALKER personally I don’t “Spunky” SIENA TOM know any of them.

“Kind” LENA SAKKAB We really want “Passionate” TAYLOR HOPKINS what’s best for our “Sweet” ASHLEE SILWAL students and are “Driven” ISAIAH GARCIA willing to work hard and sacrifice our time to meet with them when we can.

Since we have such high standards, I have to keep taking papers in and keep working with students to make sure their skills come up. The fact that we’re willing to put that effort in makes Rocklin High a really unique place. In one of my first years teaching here I was adjusting to the mastery learning system and I had a student named Krista. There was an assignment that she kept gettting an incomplete on so I kept having to hand it back to her; it was a whole ping pong effect. She worked really hard on it and was finally able to pass it. I ran into her at Papa Murphy’s 10 years later and she remembered how hard she had to work on that assignment and that I wouldn’t let her quit and made her learn. It was very validating to run into her. I want all Rocklin High students to know that high school does not have to be the pinnacle of your life and that the end of something is just the beginning of something new.

Allison Uyeki

I

’ve taught at Rocklin High for five years, from 1997-2002, and then I came back in 2013, so I’ve been teaching here for 10 years total. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher ever since I was a little girl. When I was little I had a cat, and I would put on glasses and pretend to teach my cat how to read, and my mom has pictures of me in front of a chalkboard trying to teach my cat stuff. Both of my parents were teachers, so teaching has run in my blood. It wasn’t until high school that I realized that I wanted to teach high school students. I took some English classes in high school, and in one of them I hated the teacher, and it inspired me to be like ‘I don’t want to be like you’. My senior English teacher was really encouraging and I really opened up because I was really shy, and that experience made me think about English teaching. I’ve always loved to read and write, so it was a perfect match. Rocklin High has made a difference in my life because it definitely gave me more confidence; when I graduated from the teaching credential program, Rocklin was fairly new, and I remember interviewing for here and it was the place where people wanted to get a job. So I kind of thought to myself that I wouldn’t get the job and I wasn’t really confident, and then I had a really good interview and I remember getting a call from the principal saying he wanted to offer me a job. It really boosted my self-confidence and it made me realize that I need to be more confident in my abilities and in myself. Coming onto a new campus and making connections, it was like a family. The staff would eat together and we would do things together, but we’ve lost a little bit of that connectedness just as the campus has grown so big and the staff has grown so big. It’s just the connection with the people and getting the chance to blossom in my element that has changed me. When I first got here, I was brand new, 24 years old, and I looked like one of the students. I’m short, I looked young and I would get stopped in the halls sometimes by the discipline techs who didn’t know me yet. There were these two older women in my department who no longer teach here, and they really took me under their wing, they gave me all that they had and shared resources with me. They weren’t the kind of people who would hoard their ideas, and they were very open and encouraging and it was really nice to come up alongside them and have them mentor me. Of course my husband is the best, he is always encouraging me and he’ll come by and bring me lunch, and always stop by. He even decorated my classroom for me this year for my birthday. He’ll come to some sporting events here with me, like to a football game, and he doesn’t have any affiliation with the school but he’s always supporting me. Rocklin High is a good place to be

Difference Makers | 20

In one word, Mrs. Perkins is...

I

“Spunky” CLARE ZIANNO “Kind” HAYLEE CHRISTENSEN “Giving” B BURNS “Beautiful” EMILIE BARRON “Caring” SYDNEY ECKENBURG “Organized” JESSIE BULLOCK “Lovely” SHREYA REDLAM “Feisty” MINJI KIM “Welcoming” ELLA SCHWASNICK “Valuable” AVERY STREATER “Dope” TUCKER BOHATCH “Posititve” ANALICIA ADAO “Kind-hearted” JORDAN OVERBOE

alicia PERKINS

Isaiah Garcia

kind of fell into getting this job as a bookkeeper. When I was going off to college, I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do. I actually took a class where we learned about different career options and we took different kinds of personality tests where you’d best be suited. Specifically, we figured out what major would be good for whatever career or personality best fit us so it was kind of like a “get to know yourself” class. I took it because I did not have any idea of what I wanted to major in and basically all these tests like MyersBriggs told me that I should be either in counseling, or education. So, I ended up going to school for liberal studies to become an elementary school teacher for six years of being a full-time student because I was trying to figure out my life. After that, I was just over it and didn’t want to go back to get my credentials. At that point, I had worked at an after school program and realized little kids are not my thing. Luckily, I figured that out before I spent my money on more schooling. Again, I ended up in this limbo phase of what to do and so, I had the taken the tests and qualified to become a substitute teacher to discover if it’s right for me. So, I signed up to be, through RUSD, a substitute teacher as well as a substitute in clerical positions. My very first job was at Victory High School as the disciplinary technician. I basically came in and instantly knew I did not want this job because I hate confrontation plus those kids thought I was their age. After a few weeks, the principal said that wanted me to continue with my position but I was really hesitant because it wasn’t a full-time job and wasn’t meant for what I wanted to do. Eventually, however, I gave in and was the disciplinary technician for about a year and a half. Nonetheless, I still needed something a little more full-time because it was only a six hour job and only nine-and-a-half months. So, I came over to Rocklin and was the assistant principal’s secretary for about three months. By that time, Thompson basically came over, recruited and interviewed me which resulted in me getting the job here of what I do in the ASB office. Being the bookkeeper is such a balance for what I love. Unfortunately, in the secretary position, I didn’t have the positive connections with students compared to my job. Right now, It’s such a blessing because I 100 percent love my job. I am a gold and I do love the numbers and keeping things organized but I would never keep this job if it wasn’t for the students because I would just go crazy. The days I have to work when the students aren’t on campus are the most dreadful because I’m here for hours sitting at a computer and I would not have so many people come in and out The constant interruption and the different day-to-day action is what I enjoy. Honestly, I came back to Rocklin because of the connections. I had a couple of friends that taught in Rocklin Unified; however, I did have such a positive experience when I was here. I wasn’t the type of person to hate high school, but I came here to not live in it. I had such a good experience here, that it kind of made sense to go full circle. Aside from having relationships with my students, I love being able to have relationships with people who were once my teacher and establish this co-worker atmosphere and getting to know them as a colleague.

Difference Makers | 21

amber TILLERY

celebrate what they’re doing after high school, knowing that I might have gotten to be a tiny piece in part of that, makes my whole week. I would really love to volunteer with a non-profit organization, maybe in an area where students don’t have as much support, where my guidance through this process might be the difference of them going to college or not going to college.

When I was in high school, I had a tennis coach who was the nicest guy and probably the best coach I’ve ever had in the sense that he related to every single player, on a very personal level. To connect like that, to make those kind of connections, to know those things… I think that’s the kind of person I want to be. I want someone to kind of look back and be like ‘Yeah, she really took the chance to get to know me and she helped me by doing that.’ At Rocklin, it’s really my personal goal here that every student leaving has a plan for after high school, and I don’t care if that’s going to Harvard or if that’s starting a job the day after school gets out. I want to help encourage students to know that they can, and know that, whatever path it is that they’re choosing, they know best that it’ll be right for them. I really hope that students don’t feel the pressure to be the ‘Harvard kid’, that the ‘I’ve got a job lined up paying $15 an hour that I’m starting’ is equally as valid and commendable, if that’s the path. I guess my goal here is letting the students know that they always have someone in their corner that wants to help them do whatever it is they want to do.”

“College mom” JACOB MEAD “Invested” MAKAYLA HANEGAN “Very helpful” ABBEY CONNELL “Insightful” PAIGE HOLLOWAY “Dedicated” ANDREA VALENTINI “Kind” ABE HORILLO “Enlightened” ISAIAH GARCIA “Selfless” MASON HARDY “Giving” KAYLA AUSTEFJORD “Ambitious” MORGAN WALTMAN “Resourceful” DREW NAVARRE

Taylor Niemi

I

grew up in this area actually, in Newcastle and Auburn. I actually graduated from Placer High School in three years. So I took off a month for college when I was sixteen; I went up to the University of Nevada, Reno and spent a year there, then transferred down to Santa Monica College in southern California. Growing up, I thought I wanted to be a high school teacher, and then I sort of fell into a different career. I got a job in a different industry that was paying very well and it didn’t really make sense for me to leave that job to go pursue my dream of teaching. That job was in the insurance industry; my husband and I owned an insurance agency for 14 years, and once it was kind of up and running, I decided ‘You know what, I think it would be fine without me, and I wanna go pursue my dream,’ I knew I wanted to serve people, and education was still really interesting to me, so the only places I went to look for a job were at the school district and the Parks and Recreation Department within the city. It just happened to be the first time I went to look for available jobs that this job was open. So I applied for it and I got it, and I never looked back and I’m so happy that that just all happened, it was the perfect time for me because I love what I do. I would say my parents are probably the biggest shapers of who I am, and it’s funny because I don’t think I necessarily recognized that when I was growing up. But looking back on that now, I can definitely see that. Neither of them are very showy people, but both of them have always really enjoyed giving to others their entire life so I was just raised that way. That definitely plays into my personality, I get something great out of helping somebody else. It sounds selfless, but it’s not. I think I’m one of those rare 1% of people that just truly love what I do, and I can’t believe every day that I get to come do this, and that this is my job. It’s so weird because I didn’t dislike my job before, it was fine. I was my own boss and I made way more money, it was flexible, and I could come and go as I wanted, all of that was great. But I didn’t love what I did. Now I love what I do; I get up, my alarm goes off at 5:40 every morning and I’m not even mad, like I’m happy to come. It’s a big deal. A couple years ago, I had a baby as a surrogate for some friends and it was a really cool experience. Everyone would always say like ‘Oh that’s the nicest thing you’re doing for your friends, I can’t believe you’re so generous’ and I’m like you know what I’m getting so much out of this. I get to give them a gift, like nobody is gonna be able to give them anything better than what I’ve given them ever. It’s really the best feeling ever. So to see all the students come in here on decision day and

Difference Makers | 22

I

that I was going to end up teaching though, that was not the plan, but it just happened that this job opened back up right when I was moving back, which I believe was kind of a divine appointment to come back to this job; it was unique how it happened. So, there’s just experiences that I’ve had in life that I know are out of my control, and I’m okay with that, you know I don’t have to be in control of everything. It’s not about me, it’s more about others than about what I want, of course I have dreams and desires, but if it doesn’t include other people in there and if it doesn’t include me encouraging them to pursue that, I think we get stuck in our own little worlds.

Find something you’re passionate about, do it with everything you’ve got, and then include others into your world.”

shawn SPIESS

What is your favorite memory with Mr. Spiess?

“Mr. Spiess went to the ACDA Regional Honor Choir with a few students. He told me I have beautiful hair the whole time.”

RAYMOND MATTHEWS “I remember being the only freshman in Chamber Choir on the first day of school and being so scared, but Spiess made me feel so welcomed.”

ALI SNIDER “On the 2017 L.A choir trip, Spiess won the fastest time to drink a Capri Sun.” ASHLEY WILHELM “Mr. Spiess is my mentor as well as my friend and is the reason I am pursing music forever.”

MADDIE HORTON

Difference Makers | 23

Jilliana Passey, Faith Hardy

’m just trying to constantly ask the question with students, especially the seniors, and maybe even juniors, ‘What are you passionate about?’ because it’s not going to go away.

Those thoughts, those desires, those dreams are going to continue with people as they get older; they may get shifted and morphed and changed a little bit, but I think that basic thing that you love, it’s never going to go away, and why not do something and make it an integral part of your life? I was on soccer scholarship for the University of Chicago. The school board said they were putting big reductions in a portion of their athletic scholarships and the next day I jumped on plane and came home. At this point I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I [had done] ROTC and taken a pre-flight ground school class at my high school and was involved in another military air force club because my whole goal was to fly. At the time I busted my knee out, so that injury prohibited me from doing that. I thought I would maybe try to be a physical therapist, but once I hit calculus I hit a brick wall. I just walked by the music department one day and I wanted to see what was going on over there, joined a choir, next thing I knew I was taking everything over. I finished my vocal performance degree in one year and got another degree in music education and teaching credential. I got a job at Lodi High and taught choir at Spring View Middle School with Spanish and RSP the first year Granite Oaks opened. It was my wife who taught choir at Rocklin High for two years. I took her job when we started having kids. For the past two years I have been the graduate assistant to the Sac State department [and am currently] fulfilling a masters degree. I get here early, work full time and go to Sac State two days a week, getting home at 10:30. I have been working as a student conductor for the university chorus. I will be finished this May. Out of that I have been able to kickstart my singing career. I will do some performing in Europe this summer doing a little bit of recording with a quartet that is part of a much larger work. I know life always has twists and turns and if there are opportunities I take one door at a time. I don’t have intentions to stop my teaching career for a vocal career, but if opportunities keep coming and I can do more performing, that is what I have always wanted to do. In the summer I try to get in the mountains as much as possible, go fishing, kayaking, just hanging out. I like being with my family; I like doing things with them. I have no reservations talking about [my faith]. It’s a huge aspect of my life and I can say that there are experiences that I’ve had that just validate that I am not the most important person in the world. I think for me the faith aspect is a constant reminder of humility.

I really believe in serving and helping others, especially those who are in need, so I’ve done a lot of missions trips to different places. At one time, I left the teaching world and went head in once again trying something new and different and started a church down in Kansas City and ran it for nine years, and then knew that it was time to come back this way. I didn’t know

y teaching philosophy is basically that I want my students to go home and know what I taught that day.

I always found it frustrating as a student when I would go home and not know how

to do stuff, so that’s basically how I wanted to teach my class. I grew up in a family of teachers. My grandparents were both teachers, one elementary and one college. I went through high school and I played a lot of sports. All my friends were athletes and not necessarily the best students, so I found myself helping them with their classes, especially math. That kind of lit the fire for me to become a teacher. I enjoy teaching AP statistics because it’s something that’s applicable in life. Some math is very theoretical and you don’t use it very often, but with statistics you run into it every day.

The hardest lesson I’ve had to teach is how to get students to persevere. I don’t know if I have a specific concept, but I want them to be okay with making mistakes. Overcoming a mistake, learning from it, and getting better for next time is super important. This is also one of the most important lessons I’ve taught. In addition to that, treating people with respect is another great lesson.

Growing up, I was in a household where my mom was divorced several times, so I didn’t like stuff that didn’t have a final answer. I liked stuff that was solid, where you knew when you got it right. So, English was always frustrating because you never really knew if you got things right or wrong.

You would turn in a paper and get back a ‘B’ and not know why. Whereas, with math, you knew when it was right and it acted as a source of solidity in my life. I’m passionate about my family; I try to always follow what’s going on with them and make sure that they’re being successful. I’m also an avid board game collector. I have a collection of over 280 board games. I would say that my mom’s third husband is my hero. I didn’t really grow up with him; he was after I went to college, but even though he didn’t really raise me, he always treated me with respect, like I was his own son. He’s taken care of my mom, and just the way he went through life was a good model for me.

Difference Makers | 24

Brendan Howard, Zachary Cox

mike TREJO M

“Mr. Trejo is a great teacher.

His class was fun. I really liked his Friday trivia. He had a lot of patience with me this year because I did not understand stats at all.”

ELLARIE SUTTON “Mr. Trejo makes more sarcastic comments in his class than any other teacher that I’ve ever had and it makes me happy. He’s a good teacher.”

CONNOR COOK “Mr. Trejo is great teacher. He has the hearing of a hawk; he can hear literally everything. It’s just funny.”

WYATT WALSH “Trejo is a very good teacher.

He’s taught me a lot and prepared me for the AP test, which I really hope to pass this year. He cares about every individual student.”

SABRINA NOTTINGHAM “Trejo is very enthusiastic about the subject he teaches. He makes sure everyone is engaged in class. He wants to make sure everyone passes and learns the material.”

MEREDITH MILAM “Trejo definitely works hard getting us notes and making sure that we understand everything. He makes sure that everyone is on-task and that we know what we are doing. He has a good personality, and we make inside jokes with him a lot.

Overall, he’s a great teacher with a great personality.”

CHRISTIAN JIMENEZ. “I think Trejo is an amazing teacher and person. He always likes to joke around with me in class, and he knows how to connect with his students.”

MILES GRISHMAN

love working with students, and I found out early on that I just get so much out of it. It lifts my spirits, and I feel like I’m really giving back. I just enjoy high school students a lot. Besides teaching, my family is most important to me. I have three kids that are in elementary school: kindergarten, third grade, and fifth grade. Spending time with my family makes me happiest, but soccer is a close second. I just love the sport: coaching, watching, and playing. A turning point in my life was in college when I got hit by a pickup truck. It took me out of school for six months. At the time, I was an aeronautical engineer and was living with my grandparents. After the accident, my grandma suggested that I try biochemistry or something. So I went down that path and it completely changed my life. I definitely got more into school and enjoyed my time there which eventually led to me becoming a teacher. My biggest influence is my faith in God. I have always been religious; I was raised in the church. I am pretty open, but one thing not many people know about me is my pickup accident. I don’t talk about it that much anymore, but I’ve had 15 surgeries because of it. I like the idea of ‘How are you making a difference right here, right now? I think day-to-day interaction with other people should be positive, encouraging, and uplifting. I feel

Difference Makers | 25

Laura Maranta, Ellarie Sutton

I

paul WERNER

like that is a message that Werner’s I want to be in my classes top three and at home. I think that people get wrapped up in chem jokes their own world or global are... issues, and forget about the person sitting right next 1. If you can’t helium, to them. What have you and you can’t curium, done for them? Are you being known to them? Are then you might as well you empathetic? That’s barium. something that I try to communicate to my classes 2. What happened with and children; I feel like that’s something different sodium chloride and about me. In college, I the nine-volt? They got was a part of PolyReps, which was a student alumni charged with a salt and organization, and we would battery. give tours of the campus. We were 3. Don’t trust atoms. encouraged to try to They make up personalize the tour, so, being a science major, everything. when we would go by the science building, I always told some science jokes, silly jokes that everyone could understand, at least. When I started teaching, I wanted there to be other jokes, so my family gave me a big, huge book of jokes, puns, riddles and things like that, and so I always had some jokes that I would tell. Then, as I started getting into higher levels of chemistry, the jokes started to become more science-y. They were sporadic, but they were frequent enough so students wanted to do something else with it. I had some peer teachers give me a beaker that had a bunch of jokes in it, some students and other peer teachers gave me a binder of jokes, and this year Laura started the joke of the week on the board. And students love it because, if they see the joke has been there for a while, they ask if they can change the joke. The joke of the week is always a student joke; it’s always one that they think is funny, so they can erase it and put in their joke.

A

craig KAYLOR

fter 15 years of television production jobs, I thought it was time to switch to teaching. I was getting kind of tired because it was seven days a week. I decided to take my trade and came here as a tech for the school. I was the milkman of the campus. I was still working for the television production at night time so I had two jobs. I was told by the principal at that time that since I already had my degree from college I would just need to take a few classes for a teaching credential. I never thought I would become a teacher, ever. I think what makes a photography class different from any other class in RHS is the variety. Everybody’s got selfies on their Instagrams. Everyone incorporates photography into their life, so I am just trying to help them look through their lens a little bit easier. Some kids like taking exterior photos like oceans and sunsets. Some kids like shooting sports. What I am trying to do is find out those that maybe should be up a notch or two and trying to get them that pass so they can get to that upper level. As Shields retires in a year, the whole thing is kind of in my hands, which is scary. Having come from the department of broadcasting, it’s still new. The students have inspired me to be stay here at RHS. When I see a student of mine pursue photography outside of the classroom it makes all the hard work worth it. One of the reasons that teachers teach is because we want to get the kids as involved and motivated in what we are teaching, so they can take it to the next level. I have those students where you can’t make any judgements before you actually see the person. When you follow through with what you’re teaching, it doesn’t matter what they look like because they’re here to learn. I have some students out there today that are really successful in the film industry or they’re making comedy The Kaylor for YouTube. My students inspire me everyday, that’s why I come back to work. Seeing Difference. the progression they make is a huge motivating factor. I get all the intro level photo “Kaylor is almost like a dad to students. So, I get all the speed bumps, and then I hand Sheilds the gold nuggets. I’m me. I can go to him and talk to the weeder. One year, Sheilds didn’t have any of the ones; I had them all. Seven classes him about anything in my life of ones! I think I was going stir crazy. I was ready for some advanced brains because in and he listens and gives me broadcasting I have all four levels. So, for the last five years I have been teaching ones. I advice.” don’t have that mind that I had before: the mature mindset. Now, I’m trying to train myself ALIX BRYANT how to deal with youngsters: the ones that just don’t want to be in here. This class is a requirement for some students, and I can’t prevent people from not wanting to be here.

“Mr. Kaylor really works with They’re going to come in and I’m going to try to hook them. Maybe they’ll love it and I’ll you to get your work done. He’s happy to help and listen to your see a difference at the end of the year. You just have to indulge them in photoshop and problems” photography.

LAUREN GAMBOA

“Mr. Kaylor is different from all

Madison Haydn-Myer and Najera

other teachers at RHS because he helps not with just classroom stuff but also real life things. He is very caring and easy to talk to.” IMAN EID

“I like Kaylor because he’s easy to talk to and he makes class interesting.”

KAMRYN AVVKUMOVITS

Difference Makers | 26

dale

ECKENBURG M

“Although I have never had him as a teacher just seeing him around campus brings me joy because he is always smiling and everyone has nothing but good things to say about him.”

HANNAH FRYE “Mr. Eckenberg not only pushed me to become a better student but also lead me on a path to suceeding in my other classes by having a good attitude.”

KENDALL HENNESSEY “His humor and discussions in class open up a friendly conversation in class. He has a welcoming smile that makes you feel at ease.”

ALEC PITTS

Colton Graves, Jake Danna Taylor Ruiz

What makes Eckenburg such a positive presence on campus?

r. Dale Eckenburg is an outdoorsman, family man, teacher and tennis coach, but is best known for smiling and waving at everyone he passes in the hallways. He grew up in the area, graduated from Nevada Union High School and went on to study at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. He worked as a flight attendant at the local airport. He then decided to change his career path to be more involved in nature. “I like more outdoorsy stuff, so I started to take more forestryrelated classes. I enjoyed the classes a lot and thought back to high school a lot. My teachers were the people who motivated me to go to college and shaped my life. That kind of inspired me to start teaching, because I want to have an impact in people’s lives like my teachers did in mine.” Mr. Eckenburg loves to play devil’s advocate in class to engage his students in compelling and thoughtful arguments. He makes an effort to have students think for themselves and get them involved in class. His thought-provoking teaching strategy creates an interactive and opinionated, yet open-minded, atmosphere. Mr. Eckenburg makes it a priority to get the class as engaged in discussions as possible, even if it causes some disagreements.

Eckenburg teachers three classes a day, each of which “have their disadvantages and advantages but at the end of the day I love teaching them all.” Eckenburg’s positive and friendly personality is mirrored in his daughter, Sydney Eckenburg, who is currently a sophomore on campus. “I love seeing Sydney on campus smiling and hanging out with friends. It is neat to have her here.” Eckenburg is a well-loved teacher on campus whose genuine interest in students and bright demeanor contribute to the school’s vibe. “I really like having my dad on campus because whenever I’m having a bad day, I can just go into his classroom and he gives me good advice, or when I fail a test he is always there to laugh it off with me. I always keep snacks in his classroom so that makes it nice for whenever I’m hungry.

Whenever I see him around campus he always yells my name or comes up and gives me a hug. It’s always good to see a smiling face that is familiar,” Sydney Eckenburg said.

Difference Makers | 27

tara MCCULLOUGH W W “ “ I had a great teacher in high school and he made me feel smart. I looked forward to coming to geometry class everyday because I felt like I knew what I was doing and I really liked the way I felt in that class. I thought if I could make other kids feel that way, that would be a great job.”

W “

hat is your favorite thing and your least favorite thing about your job?

My favorite thing about teaching is the students. I am never bored. My job is never the same. Even if I teach the same class, the students are different so it’s fresh every year and on a daily basis.

The thing I hate the most about my job is grading, hands down. I just hate grading.”

W “

hen did you start teaching at RHS and what was your first class like?

I started teaching at Rocklin High School in 1994, the school year following the opening of the campus.

My first calculus class had one section with a total of 7 students. To this day, I still remember the names and faces of my very first students. At the time, teaching the first year wasn’t very smooth as it was a completely new experience for me.”

I won an award, which is nice, but that was something adults nominated me for. I think my biggest accomplishment is when my students are successful. When I receive an email from a student thanking me and telling me how my teaching has prepared them so much for college life, things beyond high school, it constantly reminds me of why I love my job. The fact that I am able to impact so many students is by far my biggest accomplishment.”

I “

f not teaching, what career would you have chosen?

Mccullough?

M - “Math Queen”

PAIGE MATTHEWS

C - “Charming” BUBBA CAV

C - “Caring” NEEL GUPTA

U - “Understanding”

AVERY STREATER

L - “Lovable”

JOEY WUELFING

L - “Legendary” HENRY STRECKER

O - “Optimistic” U - “Unique” G - “Geniune” H - “Humble”

JADYN BREIEN ISAIAH GARCIA ALEC PITTS KAITLYN BAUR

I actually did not enter college as a math major. I entered UCSB as a geological science major because I was going to be a volcanologist and study volcanoes in the pacific northwest. I’m not really sure if would have actually gone all the way with that career path, but that was my plan before I became a math teacher.”

“I took AP Calc AB my junior year. Mrs. McCullough was always there for me and was always willing to help me.

Honesly, she is the only reason I passed the class.”

GEMMA ROSE

Adarsh venkat, Liz Lester

hy did you get into teaching and what drives you to be an amazing teacher?

hat is your biggest accomplishment as a teacher?

How would you describe

Difference Makers | 28

that took place. Perhaps the greatest surprise of our “around the country” road trip was Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The most beautiful, God-created landscape I have ever seen, and I’ve traveled extensively. Having a family is the most rewarding journey imaginable; there is never a dull moment.

The fun, quirky things our girls say and do bring joy!

julianne BENZEL

What’s it like having two parents at the school?

“It’s definitely fun, whenever I need to print something or borrow any supplies I can go to my mom or dad’s classroom.

Its super convenient and also fun to be able to see and hang out with my parents throughout the day. Whenever it is too hot or cold outside I just hang out in one of their classrooms. I do feel a little extra pressure, being a Benzel, but I love it,” Paige Benzel said.

Skylar Wuelfing

D

uring my second year of college, I studied at the University of England in London for a year and traveled extensively throughout the European continent; that’s when I fell in love with history and decided to pursue it as a major.

I received a minor of political science and was initially going to go into politics, but knew I wanted to work with youth, so teaching high school seemed the natural progression. I did my student-teaching at Folsom High School, but they didn’t have any openings so I hear about this little town called “Rocklin” and that there was a new high school hiring. I applied, interviewed, and got a call the next day that I was hired and I’ve been there since. I never expected/ thought I would marry a teacher and the benefits are unbelievably incredible: I’ve had the privilege of seeing my husband periodically throughout the day and now that our own daughters are coming through the high school, I get to see them also, it’s really very neat. The RHS administration has always been so gracious in allowing me to teach part-time so I can do the two things I am extremely passionate about: motherhood and teaching! Aside from meeting my husband and having our five daughters, the best experience of my life was when I graduated from college; my best friend lived in Florida, and I flew out to meet her. We hopped in her dad’s work car and drove around this beautiful country of ours for the entire summer. We met so many fun and colorful people along the way and came to appreciate the incredible diversity of the regions throughout America. My one and only hope is that my family and my students can say that they have seen Jesus through me; that I have somehow conveyed His unconditional love for them through my kindness and convictions. I’d love to live in Australia for a year! People are fun-loving and low key; the various wildlife and land forms would be incredible to discover. I’d love to live through the Reform Era as a result of the 2nd Great Awakening during the antebellum years of U.S. history. Numerous challenges were addressed and women were at the forefront of most of the changes

Difference Makers | 29

have been teaching at Rocklin for 15 years and then I have taught 2 years of high school before Rocklin High.

I became a teacher because basically I like school and being able to grow. My first profession that I went into, working at nurseries with plants and eventually doing the whole firefighter thing, seemed to be the whole path that I wanted to do, but I just didn’t feel like I was really growing as a person. So I wanted to go back to school to prove to my self and grow, because I wasn’t a really good student in the past. Through going back to school and teaching I have learned to be a good student. I love the teaching atmosphere here at Rocklin. As far as a place to work, working with my colleges here, the teachers here are all really passionate about their jobs. They push me to become a better teacher as well. As far as a place to work, working with teachers is wonderful, but there are a lot of politics that come along with it, like with the strikes that happened in the beginning of the year were very very disappointing but we’ll move on. Overall I’d say the best part about teaching has been the relationships that I have formed with my students and seeing where they go and seeing what they’re able to do, its just amazing. I just learned yesterday that my former speech and debate speaker just finished up law school at Cornell and it seems like just yesterday she was in this class. You know working with students and seeing what they’re able to do. Even the students who are not super academic and going to these four year schools, watching them succeed, going out and working in blue collared jobs and being successful and starting families. My

Mr. Grace is: A runner An avid Walt Wittman Listener

Goal as a teacher, “How to be more analytical” ISAIAH GARCIA to be honest, is to make the class “How to see the behind the smoke as productive as possible. I hope that and mirrors of any work of literature” ALEC PITTS my class requires others to think.

“You’re not entitled to anything” When we’re in the ADARSH VENKAT classroom I want my students doing “How to look at the world in a something rather than different view and everything has just hanging out. I a deeper understadning” ELLA think AP Language SCWASNIK is so important; It “If you practcie what you learn, you’ll teaches us how to see improvement” JESSIE BULLOCK be a citizens of the world. We read, we write, and we think about different points of view, and all of that experience is something that we need in our citizens; to be able to think critically. In a world today with such polarization, to figure out the common ground and discover the true argument is something my class is prepared for. My message for students is to take things in strides and to be adaptable.

The more knowledge you have and the more experience you have, the more adaptable you are going to be. It is great to have plans but they will only take you so far; roadblocks will come your way and you have to be ready to get past them. The best things my students have taught me is how to chill out. Sometimes I get more stressed out about things, about work, and my students remind me that it’s more about the relationships that the I am making in the classroom are sometimes more important that the product that we are producing; we need to take the moments to be connected.

AP language arts Teacher Speech and Debate Coach Difference Makers | 30

Jaclynn Pineiro, Mia Scalise

I

james GRACE

What’s the most valuable thing Mr. Grace has taught you?

W

hen I was in highschool I was a horrible student. I didn’t have supportive teachers and I didn’t feel like they were there. They didn’t care they were just doing their job. So I told myself from a young age that I was going to be a teacher that helped kids. After college I took a different path for a while but I came back to my goal of being a teacher. My grandmother was a big influence on me. She was always very positive and was always there to encourage me and help me reach my goals. I came to Rocklin High when the school first opened and when it was all about mastery learning and caring about kids. Back in the days there was an overwhelming amount of love and family that we had. As we get bigger it has been harder to keep that but I feel I can still maintain that image in my own classroom. Overall, this loving, caring, positive environment that Rocklin created has had a huge impact on my life. There are a significant amount of teachers on campus that care about their students and truly want them to learn. This is a good thing for Rocklin High and even if our school grows, it is up to the individual teachers to always remember this philosophy. I think that when it comes to having a positive impact on students, it’s very important to be transparent. I try to be as real as possible and exactly who I am on good days and bad days. Then my kids will see that if I can do it, they can do it. Also I having been putting in an effort to incorporate mental health practices into all my classes but especially with my Juniors and Seniors.

I’m trying to teach them how to be calm, make goals and just be a more kind, positive person inside and outside the classroom. Even if it takes twenty minutes in class, I don’t mind taking that time away from the curriculum; I think it sets the precedent for the rest of the day. A lot of kids really appreciate this time and I think it’s a good way to show them that I care about them and their well being.

I feel like if I invest my time, my love and my heart into my students, than they will also invest themselves into whatever I ask them to do. Instead of fighting against them, I show them I care about them like a family member and then they will do what I need them to do and we can accomplish the goals of the class together.

I hope that when students leave my classroom they know that it is ok to make mistakes during your young years because that is what changes you and makes you who you are.

You learn more from your mistakes than from your amazing accomplishments. It is so rewarding to help kids get through a really tough time and being there for them. Some kids don’t have anybody at home so when we have a tragedy like we did this year and in years passed it’s nice to know that they have somebody to go to. I also take groups of students on trips to Europe. We are actually going on one this summer to France and Spain. We have 30 people going and we are going to travel for 12 days to visit some of the most popular spots. On the trip, we learn a lot of history and they are also able to practice their French which is really cool to see them actually be able to order food and get what they need.

What is your favorite thing about Mrs. Arino?

“I love that she makes her students feel comfortable talking to her about anything they need to discuss” HANNAH FRYE “She gives really good hugs” ANDREA VALENTINIi “She makes mental health a priority which is something that is not talked about enoough these days” JENNA PAIVA “My favorite thing about Madame is how she truly cares about her students” KARLY KNIPPEN “I love how Madame cares about our well-being” ALLY WILHELM

stephanie ARINO One word to describe Mrs. Arino...

“Fun” LONDON BAILEY “Caring” EMMA NAVARRE “Passionate” ANNIE LAPLANTE JOSH LUCHO “Understanding” KYLIE SANDER “Very energetic” OLIVIA RAGAN “Amazing” WILL ZITO “Outgoing”

STEELE GUSTAVE

Difference Makers | 31

Kayla Austefjord

“Empathetic”

grant DEPUE

What makes Depue a good Teacher?

“He makes an effort to connect with his students and really cares about their wellbeing” EMMA WUELFING “He is determined to get the best out of all his students and he understands the lifestyle of an athlete” ALINA GONZALEZ “I have always liked his spirit and passion for what he does. You can tell he cares about each of us and wants to push us all to be a better a athlete and an overall better person” AMENA NELSON “He cares about his students. He wants them to get better, he pushes them in the weight room. He has allowed me to become better in my sport” TAYLOR FITZGERALD “You can tell he truly cares for his students because he is always supporting them and wanting them to be their best by giving high fives and cheering people on all the time” SYDNEY O’ROURKE

Difference Makers | 32

Kasandra Bigley

T

hroughout the years of teaching, I have learned a lot.

I have learned to be patient, especially with freshman boys, I have learned humility, I have learned respect and I have learned to have fun. My goal as a teacher is to inspire my students to make healthier life choices and encourage them to play. Especially as a teacher and a coach I want to inspire them to play, and to play as long as they can, because I believe that playing stimulates the brain.

My favorite thing about teaching is the relationships with students. I have had great relationships with my students. I love seeing how my students grow as a person and as an athlete. I love seeing them mature and grow through the years and even afterwards in life. I went to the University of the Pacific for four years and, when I first went in, I didn’t know I wanted to be a teacher until I got my undergrad degree from UOP. I then went to Chico State to get my teaching credentials. I now have a bachelor of arts in sports sciences with emphasis on pedagogy. My choice to become a teacher was mainly inspired because of the vacation time, the summers and the winter breaks, because it allowed me to spend a lot of time with my family, and be there for my daughters. My favorite part is that I can be at home at three every day, when my kids come home.

The vacations were my favorite part growing up and played a big role when I was younger.

If I wasn’t a teacher, I imagine I would be a firefighter or something like that, I want something that is wild and fun. I want it to be extreme. The person at Rocklin High who has inspired me the most is Dave Muscarella, because he is a great leader, role model and he runs a top notch female program with the volleyball team, and I want my program to be like his. He has wisdom and inspiration and he is just a pleasure to be around. The people who have inspired me my whole life have been my parents. They always worked super hard and did a great job raising us. They taught me a lot of life lessons and I am very thankful for that because all the life lessons I learned have helped me platform into the person I am today. My time, talent and treasure is spent enthusiastically, with zeal and zest. I love playing, especially backpacking, skiing, and snowboarding, but also, most importantly, I use my time, talent and treasures with my family, especially with my daughters.

it really shaped my career choice and my path; I’m still really good friends with most of my high school friends, and professionally, as an adult, working here is such a great place. Everybody is so invested the staff and the teachers really care about the students. They care about this place and it’s kind of unique, I think, in terms of high school, being able to have that kind of environment and it’s hard to imagine being anywhere else.It’s the place where I see myself as a lifelong teacher.

How would you describe Mrs. Gillette?

“Hardworking” ALLISON UYEKI “Kind” RACHEL DOMARADSKI “Pregnant” MADISON HAYDN-MYER “Heartfelt” GILLI KIBLER “Dedicated” GABBY LOWELL “Monica from Friends” JESICA KAN “Understanding” JAZLIN LEE “Organized” SIENA TOM

sarah GILLETTE

Difference Makers | 33

Caroline Camacho

I

grew up here in Rocklin and I attended Rocklin High School and I studied at Cal Poly. At Cal Poly, I majored in Social Science, which is kind of broad. It includes history, sociology, and anthropology.

I always knew I wanted to work in the high school scene; initially I wanted to do counseling like being a high school counselor. I’ve always loved it here. I had a great experience in high school; I loved the atmosphere, the culture and I thought it would be such a fun career. When I was in college, I was working with a counselor about my future, and she recommended that I look into teaching first, before counseling, because at that time they were cutting many counselors due to budgets.

She told me to take some education classes, so I did, and I really liked them and I thought ‘Wow, I think I’m going to teach.’ I chose to teach here at Rocklin because my high school experience was fun, I really enjoyed it. I had some really good teachers that are still here. I was a cheerleader in high school, so I was really involved in the spirit and the extracurricular scene and I always thought it was fun. While I was at Rocklin, Mr. Hardy was one of my favorite teachers, he was definitely inspiring, he was so engaging and made the subject that he teaches so much more interesting. I also had Mr. Stewart as a history teacher twice, for world history and U.S History, and I was also his T.A. So I got to know him pretty well, and Mrs. DeVinna was also my cheer advisor and P.E. teacher, so I got pretty close with her too. My favorite memory from teaching here is the first few days that I got hired.

When I was teaching my first year, my brother was also a student at that time, he was junior, so it was fun because a lot of the kids kind of knew who I was and they gave me a big warm welcome at the back to school rally; I was the only alumni teacher, so I was greeted in that way and it was really neat to be back with my former teachers in a staff meeting as a colleague.

Rocklin has been a very big part of my life now that I look back at it. Obviously,

“He has influenced me to do more than bare minimum.”

BRYCE MILLER “He pushes us to our limits and achieve greater things.” JASMIN CAZARES “He is one of my major role model, and he made me what I am in music today.”

NICK MCMULLIN “He influenced to to try my hardest” THOMAS MCMULLIN “He influenced my plans for the future. I never saw music as a career but now I am planning on pursuing music” MELISSA NAVARRO

W “

A “

hy did you choose to pursue music and become a music teacher?

I grew up in a musical family. My dad was a music teacher. I grew up around bands even before I was in it. He took his bando to a parade, and I would follow along. Being around it led me that way. I went into a highschool band, and I loved the experience and I discovered that was what I wanted to do.” id you choose music education in the beginning?

re there any special people who helped you along the path?

At each stop along the way, my dad being the first, my highschool band director was the second. I went to a junior college , the band director there played the same instrument and gave me a lot of performance opportunity outside of college.

At Fresno State, the professor was a great leader and helped me find my path.”

As I graduated highschool, I was initally going back and forth looking at possibility of being a professional musician and performance. However I realized, by the time I went into college, how competitive and uncertainty there are. Then I thought education would be something that I would really enjoy”

Getting to hangout with students and make music, really. Looking at this position in particular, getting to experience orchestral music, jazz, and wind ensemble allows me to make music everyday.”

D “

W “

hat is the best thing about this job?

W “ thomas DOUGLASS

hat other things do this job entail aside from making music?

Three quarters of this job has nothing to do with music. A lot of the organizational things: filling out applications for festivals and doing fundraisers, collecting money is a part of the job to make the time that we are making music more enjoyable.”

W “

hat advice would you have to people who want to pursue music education?

If it is specific to music education, then I would advise to get out and experience different programs. Music programs are very diverse and knowing what’s out there would be really helpful.”

Difference Makers | 34

Hailey Jang

How did Mr. Douglass influence you?

Decribe Clarion in one word

“Captivating” LAURA CHANEY “Adorable” CORY GOHL “Rambuctious” WYATT AROZ “Interesting” CONNOR BUCKLEY “Outgoing” ALLISON ROIDE “Noble” FRANK SHIELDS

n 1991, I was at a different high school teaching chemistry.

I was supposed to take head of the physics program but they didn’t have enough physics classses. I felt really bad leaving the intercity kids but it was just too hard to find a physics position there. Luckily, Mr. Spears’s dad was the principle at Rocklin High School and he convinced me to come over and teach here. If I had the choice, I wouldn’t go back to teaching chemistry because the chemistry department already does such a great job at Rocklin High. As a matter of fact, physics is something I brought to this school. Growing up, I orginally got a job as an engineer but decided to quit because I found out it was a defensedepartment job and we were making smart bombs. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I went to my mom for advice. As a family, we had always done something as a service to our community, like teaching. So, after this conversation with my mom, I went out to get my teaching credential. After I started a family and had my son, he ended up being really good at soccer. A lot of parents my age got into soccer because of their kids. I originally started playing pick-up soccer in Sacramento and I ended up meeting a lot of people overseas. There were a lot of people from different countries and it was a really cool community of soccer players. This is when I decided to coach soccer at Rocklin High School. It’s hard to choose a favorite age group to teach because each one is at a different stage of the process. I struggle in making connections with my students to the degree

I want to because I am currently teaching six different classes and have a lot on my plate. As a matter of fact, I am in the process of writing a book and have another job as well.

Difference Makers | 35

Hailey Jang

geoffrey CLARIONI

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