This school year, The Seven Hills School community welcomed seven new upper school teachers; Cheryl Sullivan Dixon (College Counselor), Ann Guillerman (Learning Specialist), Andrew Neyer (Mathematics Teacher), Tom Peters (Theater Teacher), Adeline Roux (French Teacher), Caroline Testerman (Spanish Teacher), Shauna Whelan (English Teacher). 

The new faculty have had two months so far to transition into the community. When asked what they like most about Seven Hills, the new teachers described the community as extremely welcoming, with a diverse and respectful student body.

“I love the students,” said  Shauna Whelan, the new English and Journalism teacher. “I think you all have such a variety of backgrounds and experiences which makes you all very fun to teach.” Whelan previously taught at Purcell Marian and Ursuline Academy before coming to Seven Hills.

Adeline Roux, the new French teacher said, “The thing I like the most is how nice people are; the teachers, the students, everybody is super nice.” She also noted how impressive the campus is and how all the faculty are super excited about teaching. Seven Hills is the first school she has taught at besides the undergraduate classes she taught when studying at Miami University, and she is excited to be working with high school students.

“For my own personal experience, I like that it’s a day school,” said Andrew Neyer, the new math teacher, who previously taught at three boarding schools in Switzerland, Los Angeles, and Bosnia. “I’m enjoying the lifestyle change of not living where I work. For the school specifically, the students have been very interesting, welcoming, and kind, so I guess I like the culture of the school,” Neyer said.

The new teachers were then asked about their favorite parts of their classes and teaching. Answers tended to be that they appreciated Seven Hills students’ curiosity and engagement, making for high-quality interactions between the student body and faculty. 

Whelan said, “definitely working one-on-one with students when they are creating some project or analyzing some aspect of literature.” 

Roux said, “I love how curious my students are, and how they are super open minded.” She went on to talk about how surprised she has been with the engagement and excitement of her class in all the activities they have done so far.

“I love working with high schoolers,” Neyer said. “It’s a good age. I think high schoolers are funny and easy to connect with.”

Both Whelan and Neyer had lots to say about how unique Seven Hills was from the previous schools they had taught at.

“It’s very different,” Neyer said. “Teachers who work at boarding schools live in the dorms next to the kids, so my neighbors were the high schoolers.” He shared examples of students knocking on his dorm room, asking for math help, food, or relationship advice. He described it as being “a very full life experience.” He went on to talk about how, at Seven Hills, he enjoyed having his school life and after-school life that did not always overlap.

“It’s smaller and quirkier,” said Whelan. “Because it’s so small and the people have such a wide range of experiences, I just feel like you all have such interesting and intellectual conversations.” She later spoke about how she found the political climate at Ursuline difficult because of traditional Catholics attacking the lifestyle of her LGBTQ+ students.

The new faculty members are highly impressed by the community at Seven Hills, particularly how kind and welcoming everyone has been. Additionally, they all stated that they were looking for ways to get more involved in the community and connect with their students on a more personal level.