Q: What Subjects do you teach?

A: "Just Culinary" 

Q: Why did you choose Prospect?

A: "I actually went to Prospect so it felt like home and I’ve been to other schools. I've student taught at other schools and Prospect has a very unique culture that you don’t really find at other places."

Q: How is Prospect unique? 

A: "They relate to people, they bring interesting things to Prospect, they're very inclusive about a lot of things and they make a lot of things fun. They really try to connect with all types of people rather than just being a school."

Q: What are your hobbies outside of school?

A: "I like to bake, I like to work out, [and]I like to try new coffee places."

Q: What is your favorite part about being a teacher?

A: "I like meeting new people, I mean I have 110 kids, I feel like that's unique, not everyone gets to meet kids and interact with people all day. Look at the world now with all [the] online jobs where you’re not meeting people, and I love cooking and all that stuff so it’s fun to teach kids how to be adults."

Q: What inspired you to be a teacher?

A: "I feel like I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. When I was a kid, I played with a white board and I always knew I wanted to do something with teaching. Prospect when I was in highschool actually helped a lot with that, I did the teacher internship stuff. When I went here they had a pre-school so it taught me that too, so I feel like all my experiences throughout high school really helped me decide to be a teacher."

Q:Why did you choose to teach culinary?

A: "So my degree is in family consumer science so I can teach anything culinary, nutrition, child development but prospect just has culinary right now."

This is Ian Arms’s first year at Prospect. He graduated from Iowa State in 2021 with a degree in kinesiology and health. He is an instructional assistant in the science classrooms, as well as a coach on the boys’ track and field and sprinters cross teams.

Q: Why did you decide to major in that [kinesiology and health]?

A: "So, previously, I thought I wanted to be a physical therapist, you know, be a physical therapist for some sports organization, so I went into their kinesiology and health track and it was all about how the body moves, what’s the medical aspects of it, that sort of jazz."

Q: You said [previously] you went to high school here at Prospect. Why did you come back?

A: "I know a lot of the administration here, so it was an easy text to Mr. Mirandola, being like ‘Hey, I’m getting into the education field, any openings at Prospect?’ And he kept me posted on job openings."

Q: What are you teaching, in your first year here?

A: "This is my first year. I’m an instructional assistant, so that means I’m just helping out in classrooms. My content area is science, so I’m in a lot of biology, one geometry, and that’s really about it."

Q: If you could teach any class here, which one would you teach?

A: "Biology for sure. Biology and human physiology. Looove human physiology."

Q: Would you teach regular bio, honors bio, AP bio?

A: "AP Bio, definitely AP bio. But I have nothing against the honors or regular."

Q: Were you coaching them [the track and field and sprinters cross teams last year]? As a volunteer or as an assistant?

A: "I came in halfway through the season in the spring last year, for track and field. Last year I was really working as a PT tech the whole time, so it’s hard to navigate my calendar, being able to be here with the kids."

Q: Why did you decide to come back this year?

A: "So I’m getting a masters degree, I probably should mention that, I’m getting a masters in secondary education so that I can be a biology teacher. So that’s why now I’m still living at home. It’s an easy walk down the street, it’s about an eight minute walk. It’s just simpler for me to be here in each class. And then after school, I roll out to the track and get to coaching."

Q: What is your favorite part of coaching?

A: "Probably watching my athletes do something that they said they would never be able to do. Being present and supporting them through adversity, challenges, and being that guiding lamp."

Q: How do you do that? How do you help them overcome those challenges?

A: "Oh man. Being just a motivational speaker in the room, or a motivational presence. Maintaining a positive mindset during practice. Showing them how to do a certain exercise, showing them how to do a certain drill. Educating, because my background’s in kinesiology, so I can educate them on how the body moves, what we’re looking for, as far as angles of the joints, angles of the bones, stuff like that."

Q: Did you run track in high school or college?

A: "I did not run in college, I ran here [at Prospect] all four years."

Q: What events did you run?

A: "I did the 100 meter, 200 meter, and 400 meter. Then whatever relays they put me into. I was pretty versatile."

Q: What was your favorite?

A: "200 meter. I mean, I was pretty fast, don’t get me wrong, but the 100 was a little too short for me, so 200 I was able to hold my endurance a little bit longer than the others."

Q: My final question is what goals do you have this year, for the track team and for yourself personally?

A: "For the track team, I would say, get as many guys downstate as possible. To make it more specific, I would say let's try to get, maybe 20 guys downstate. Get all three relays, all four relays, downstate. 4x1, 4x2, 4x4, and 4x8. Now my personal goals, it’s gonna be a little bit more educational focused. Just being present in the classroom would be one, two would be trying to be the best educator I can be. And then, build as many relationships as I can with staff members, with the students, and just, be a positive figure inside the building."

Q: What made you want to work at Prospect?

A: “It's a great place and I have always felt really welcomed. Everybody is excited here and I feel like the energy is really good here.”

Q: What are your first impressions of Prospect?

A: “Everyone is very accepting here and open. I also think that you guys have lots of really great support and a lot of really good resources.”

Q: What are you most excited for this year?

A: “Just getting to know my students, getting to know the staff, the school. It's a big learning curve in your first year, but it's also an exciting time.”

Q: What is something you like to do outside of school?

A: “I make sourdough bread. I like to do that. Bake.”

Q: What made you want to help people? 

A: “It's just so important that we were there for eachother. I just think that human nature in general like, being a good person, helping other people, being open, being a support person. Just being that safe person that I know students can turn to. High school is a crazy time. You guys are learning a lot, you're growing a lot, there's a lot that happens in high school. So, having a person you can go to, an adult, I think is so so important.”

Q: What advice would you give to other school counselors?

A: “I think personality and just being open and honest and having a welcoming space to make students feel comfortable is really really important because that's where you build your relationship from. Trust and safety.”

Q: What has been your favorite moment from your whole career?

A: “I worked with this student who had a very hard time at home. We got very close and she came to see me a lot and she was very motivated to get out of her house and make things happen for herself. I submitted her name for a scholarship and she got the scholarship to be able to go out to college and that was really really exciting.”

Q: What inspired you to pursue teaching as a career?

A: “I’ve got four younger sisters and a younger brother, so I enjoyed helping them out [with schoolwork], and [during] my senior year [of high school], I tutored some kids in mathematics, elementary age, and I had a great experience and I really enjoyed working with them, but I kind of thought working with highschool students and highschool math would be a little more joyous.”

Q: What is your overall teaching philosophy?

A: “I would say to really show kids that anyone can learn and to never stop learning.”

Q: How has it felt to teach at Prospect so far?

A: “It’s been awesome. The kids are great, the people I work with are great, there’s a lot of other new teachers who are awesome people as well, so it’s been great getting to know them, and just seeing all the different opportunities kids have here as well is really fun to watch.”

Q: What are your goals as a new staff member?

A: “I’m the head wrestling coach also, so getting to know and helping kids be a part of that and helping continue the success that Prospect has had, and as a staff member, contributing where I can and spreading positivity and continuing to be a part of the culture that being a Knight stands for.”

Q: How do you hope to positively contribute to the school’s culture?

A: “I think just kind of by being who I am, spreading the love of math and the love of learning, that’s kind of how I hope to kind of contribute here. Energy’s contagious, I think, you know, bringing energy to anything I’m involved with.”

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?

A: “I have two younger daughters, so I love doing anything with them. We go to the park a lot, so I love hanging out with them. I like card games. I have a garden I take a lot of pride in, so I enjoy working there and learning.”

Q: If you had $1,000,000 in cash, what would you do with it?

A: “This is gonna sound cliche, probably, but I think I’d put $350,000 aside for investments. I’d probably use $200,000 to do some stuff with my house and just all the different things, so that puts me at about $550,000. I’d probably put about 150 grand in my daughters’ 429 college savings plans…$100,000 in a vacation fund to just kind of spend on whatever we want, another $100,000 to kind of pay off debts for different people in my family, and then the last $100,000…I’d probably give $25,000 each to kind of set up a scholarship at all the different schools I’ve taught and coached at.”

Q: Is there anything else you want the PHS community to know about you?

A: “I’m really excited to be a Knight and to just kind of help kids grow, both inside the classroom and as people.”

Kristin Clarke is a new teacher at Prospect who teaches special education and is a case manager for IEPs and student support. Although this is her first year at Prospect, she has been teaching for 14 years. 

Q: Did you work anywhere before Prospect?

A: “Yes, I’ve taught all the way from kindergarten through eighth grade special education. Last year I was teaching eighth grade so this is my first year teaching high school.”

Q:What are you most excited for at Prospect?

A: “I think all the opportunities to get involved outside of teaching. I am really excited about being apart of the community”

Q: How did you decide to get into teaching?

A: “it’s not always what I wanted to do. I wanted to go into interior design. I was always babysitting when I was younger in late middle school and into highschool and I was also a lifeguard and so I taught swim lessons and I think that’s kind of where the teaching started.” 

Q: Had you heard anything about Prospect before working here?

A: “I heard that the kids enjoy coming here and about the activities outside of school. I also heard about the school spirit type thing which made me really excited. It seems like there’s an activity for literally anybody who has an interest in anything.”

Q: What’s the most rewarding part about teaching?

A: “I think just forming relationships with students.”

Q: What are your hobbies outside of school?

A: “I like to play with my dog a lot and I’m really into cooking. I also love thrifting, not necessarily clothes but I love thrifting vintage furniture. I also enjoy going to concerts and I’m really into traveling. 

Q: Any fun facts about you? 

A: “In the entire county where I grew up there were no fast food restaurants and no stoplights.”

Q: What do you do/teach at Prospect? 

A: “I am an IA (Instructional assistant) and a special ed teacher.”

Q: Have you taught anywhere else?

A: “Yes, at an elementary school in Palatine. I did third and fourth grade. This is my third year of teaching.” 

Q: What inspired you to become a teacher? 

A: “My mom is a teacher and she kept pushing me to just work at a school and I said ‘No I don’t want to do what you do’. Then I started working at a school and I just fell in love with the kids and what it means to be a special education teacher as well as how you can help the kids.” 

Q: How difficult was the change from going from 3rd and 4th grade to high school? 

A: “It was very different because in an elementary school you're so used to staying on top of the kids and making sure they are doing what they're supposed to be doing and you're kind of guiding them through the whole thing. But when I got here I realized that these kids are on their own, like they need to figure out now and it’s so hard to not be like ‘let me do this for you,’ ‘do you need this,’ ‘have you done this,’ but your in high school now, you don’t need that guidance.” 

Q: If you weren’t a teacher what would you be?

A: “A vet.” 

Q: What do you like the most about teaching at Prospect? 

A: “I like the connections you make with the kids and talking to them outside of an academic context because you can really get to know who they are and what they like to do and how their weekend was and making relationships and connections and friendships. 

Q: What are you looking forward to the most this year?  

A: “Learning and how to be a teacher at a high school.” 

Q: What college do you go to/attend?

A: “I’m in grad school to be a special ed teacher right now and so I kind of came to Prospect to figure out if I want to teach elementary school or if I enjoy high school better… I went to U of I.” 

Q: What are your goals as a new staff member? 

A: “To foster a good community at Prospect because I went here and I loved being in high school so I kinda want kids to have a similar feeling or experience.” 

Q: Do you coach any sports at Prospect? 

A: “I help coach the sprinters on cross country.”

Q: What do you do in your spare time? 

A: “Lately I've been watching Suits. I hang out with my friends and family too… I also like to do pottery and it’s like making things on the wheel and I make mugs, plates, planters,and  bowls.” 

Q: What would you do if you won $1,000,000? 

A: “I think that if you asked me this question before I started teaching, I would have said something like buy car or buy a house but after I taught in elementary school where I saw a lot of kids that their parents couldn’t really provide for them for even something like a lunch or even a water bottle; I think i’d donate money back to those families that would need the money to kind of help support them so their kids can feel comfortable going to school or even having  t-shirt to wear other than wearing the same shirt you've worn for the past three days.” 

Q: Do you have any advice for the students at Prospect? 

A: “I think the most obvious one is to try new things but getting to know your teachers because they want to get to know you and don’t be scared of them.”

Q: What do you teach here at Prospect?

A: "I teach Physical Science and Chemistry"

Q: How long have you been teaching in total?

A: "In total, this is my fourth year. This is my first year at Prospect obviously, and I am coming from Huntley High School."

Q: Have you taught at any schools other than Prospect and Huntley?

A: "Huntley was my first full-time position. Before that I was a substitute in District 214. I did a long-term substitute job for John Hersey High School, and then I also worked as an instructional aid at Glenbrook South High School for two and a half years."

Q: What schools did you attend?

A: "I attended Maine West High School in Des Plaines, and then I went to college at Dominican University where I studied Chemistry - majored in Chemistry - and then minored in Physics, and received my educator license through them."

Q: What made you want to join Prospect?

A: "I love the atmosphere, I love how welcoming everybody is, I love how awesome all the students are. When I was substituting in and out a few of the buildings in D214 in 2020 it was just really refreshing to see how well everybody was accepting one another, and I knew that I wanted to be a part of that community, and that really drove me to try to get back into a more firm position in the district."

Q: Is that the reason you left Huntley? Because you liked Prospect? Or was there another reason?

A: "Huntley, personally where I live, was a little bit of a hike. The commute was pretty long, I wasn’t terribly close to home, and there are just some milestones in my life - where I’m at right now - that I want to be able to achieve so I had to try to make some adjustments in that regard, and Prospect is much closer so that was a big reason to why I wanted to come over here."

Q: If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of milestones?

A: "Milestones like eventually buying a house, I have a girlfriend and two dogs at home, so we want to try to find something that’s a little more permanent for us, and that’s something that we couldn’t see happening too quickly if I was still going one direction for my work, and my significant other is going one for hers. So to try to find someplace a little bit closer also to her was another thing. So mainly trying to find a more permanent residence."

Q: What does she work?

A: "She’s a kindergarten teacher. What’s cool about that is that both of us get the summers off together. So she’s not waking up going to work mad at me because I don’t have to go in anymore. It’s a very cool dynamic because we both understand each other’s jobs, so to speak. Even though she’s kindergarten and obviously I’m high school, it's very similar in terms of things we have to do and all that."

Q: Do you plan for Prospect to be your permanent job?

A: "That is my very big goal. I want to make it home here so then I can also have a permanent home somewhere around the area. I really see myself sticking here, and that’s exactly what I want to do. I want to see all of you as you’re going through all of my classes and grow."

Q: Are you enjoying working at Prospect so far?

A: "I love it. I absolutely love it. Again, its just like I thought. Everybody is just very welcoming, all of the students are fantastic in making my transition with all of the new things that I have to learn much easier on me. You’re all helping me just as I hope I’m starting to help you all a little bit too."

Q: Is there anything you wish was different about PHS?

A: "You know what? Nothing comes to mind. It’s been such a good transition, not only to the district and being able to meet all the district administrators that have been so helpful, and all of the veteran teachers that have been so helpful. Everybody has just been very easy to work with and easy to be around and, again, its made it very easy on me because its a big transition going from one place to another. I do not see anything I would change currently working here."

Q: What is your favorite thing about working here so far?

A: "All of you. Seriously, all of you students come ready to go, you are invested and I can see that. Even though, because of the block schedule, it's been three weeks, but it's only been every other day that I get to meet with all of you, I can still see that you’re all here because you want to grow, you want to learn, and I think that’s very special. That’s been my favorite part of it so far."

Q: What inspired you to be a Special Ed assistant?

A: "Last year I started working at the Life program as a divisional assistant so more paperwork and stuff like that, and I really enjoyed when the students would come in and see me and so I knew I wanted to work with students with special needs at that point so I applied for this position."

Q: What stuck out about Prospect?

A: "So I heard really great things about Prospect. My son has a lot of friends that went here and they loved it so I thought it would be a great place to be."

Q: Do you like working at Prospect so far?

A: "I do, yeah it's been great so far, I really like the students and the staff."

Q: What is the most challenging part of this job?

A: "I have not worked in Special Ed before this so just learning the students and what helps them the most has been a challenge but it's great to learn." 

Q: How long have you been in this career path?

A: "So I've been in education for 18 years but I have always worked with college students. I've been in a highschool setting for two years."

Q: Why did you choose highschool?

A: "I just thought it would be a fun change, I loved working with college students so I wanted to see if it would be fun working with high school students and so far it's been a lot of fun. I love going to pep assemblies and things like that."

Q: What are your hobbies outside of school?

A: "I have 3 boys and they all play baseball, so I love to watch baseball and I'm into photography. I love to take pictures of people and things."

Q: Did you always want to be a teacher?

A: "My undergraduate degree is in business so I was actually a HR director for multiple years before going into education. I would say when I was younger I was more interested in business but then I worked in special event planning in a University and that's when I was like oh I really want to work with students so I would say I was probably 27 or 28 when I fully decided to go into education."

Q: Who is someone who inspires you?

A: "I would say my mom, she was a teacher and I loved listening to her stories about how she would work with different students and adapted her curriculum based on what they needed."

Q: What advice do you have for your students?

A: "Go to as many clubs and activities and just be as involved in the school culture as you can be, that would just make it so much more fun."

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: "I’ve been in education for 11 years, but I’ve been a teacher’s assistant, and so this is my first year as a full-time teacher."

Q: Where did you teach previously?

A: "I was at Hoffman Estates High School."

Q: Besides Consumers Education, what other classes do you teach?

A: "I do two sections of Introduction to Business and then I do two sections of Small Business Management, on top of Consumers Ed."

Q: What would you say your favorite [class] is to teach?

A: "That’s a tough one. They’re all very different. I like Intro to Business, because it’s a little bit of everything for the business department, so that’s fun. [For] Small Business Management we do a little bit more project based learning and so that’s an enjoyable time too. Like I said for Consumers Ed, it’s more adulting 101, so I think it’s skills that you really need to move forward as an adult. So, I like that aspect of it too."

Q: Are you involved in any extracurriculars here at Prospect?

A: "Not at the moment, I’m hoping to kind of help out wherever there’s a need though. I’ve signed up to work quite a few of the sporting events, so I’m very excited to go out and kind of see all the different sports and help out in any way that I can."

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time outside of teaching?

A: "I just enjoy spending time with my family and my dog. I started trying to read more books as of this year. After I finished grad[uate] school I wanted to start reading more and so that’s how I spend my time."

Q: Why did you choose to come to Prospect?

A: "I graduated from a [District] 214 school. I went to Elk Grove and I just kind of always wanted to be back in the [District] 214 realm, and there’s really no better school than Prospect."

Q: What are you looking forward to most about working here?

A: "I think you can feel it on day one, just walking in, there’s just a different energy here than anywhere else. Everyone is super positive. It’s really easy to get up and come into work, and you know that it’s going to be a good day every day."

Q: What do you want students to know about who you are as a person?

A: "I think that I just want everyone to get the feeling that I’m firm, I’m a rule-follower, but I’m also friendly and I’m just here to see everybody do their best."

Joseph Kim graduated from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2015 with a major in Chemistry. He went to Maine West high school. He teaches Chemistry and Biology at Prospect. 

Q: Why did you chase to major in Chemistry?

A: "I came to realize that I had a great chemistry teacher. She did a really good job delivering chemistry and made a very challenging topic very easy to digest. So looking back when I was sitting between, “Hey, what do I want to study as a senior?” going into college, deciding to think about majors, and looking at chemistry really stood out for me, because I remembered having awesome experiments and a great time with friends and also the teacher really did a great job making the entire class fun so I was like, you know what, why not give it a try? And I ended up liking it, and well, here I am." 

Q: What was it like to major in Chemistry at UIUC?

A: "It was fun because the first couple of years I took the intro courses so it was not too difficult yet but we did have a lot of lab-based classes which made things really interesting. [There] was a lot of studying though, not going to lie. These labs that we had to do on a weekly basis took hours to complete. If you make one mistake, I had a really strict professor one time and he made the entire class stay after class for three additional hours to complete the remaining procedure. So that was not fun. But just being in the same room with my lab mates and getting to be really close friends was a good experience." 

Q: Did you always want to be a teacher?

A: "No I did not, I really did not. My parents were educators so I thought, “You know what, I want to do something else, not what I've seen throughout my life.” That’s why I actually started off as an accounting major at UIUC. I thought I’d be good at it [or] that I’d love it because I was good at math and [that] I like[d] numbers to begin with. But it turns out, no, it was not my thing. That's why, honestly, chemistry was not what I got into UIUC as, I got in as an accounting major but after [the] first year I was like, “This is not good.” That’s why [when] I was sitting between, “What do I want to do? What major do I want to study?” Looking back at my high school experience, what did I enjoy? Chemistry really stood out to me. I [went] ahead and [gave] it a chance and I ended up liking it." 

Q: Is this your first job in education? 

A: "No, I’ve actually worked in multiple schools throughout China. I was in China for the last seven and a half years where I worked in two American schools and two British schools, so [it was a] very international setting. [There] were kids from all over the world [at these schools]. This [job] would be my fifth school that I’ve been at."

Q: What is the biggest difference from teaching internationally to what we have here domestically?

A: "The biggest difference would have to be the class size. I’m very used to teaching one section and I was always the only chemistry person, I was always the chem guy [at the international schools]. Whereas [at Prospect], I have 10 other chem teachers here which is an amazing thing because I have 10 more shoulders to cry on instead of me just being independent flying solo. It’s really nice being able to rely on others, to ask for their wisdom. That’s why there's a lot of wisdom that I could seek, which I do. It’s [a] great environment. The fact that we get together once a week in the morning, for about an hour to sort out the timeline, agenda and learning objectives. It’s just really an amazing learning experience for me." 

Q: Why did you choose to teach internationally?

A: "I think I was so fed up with studying so much in college. I’m not saying you’re going to study a lot in college but I did switch majors here and there. That’s why to get caught up on things, if I wanted to graduate in four years I had to do two consecutive summer schools. It was too much for me. [Initially], I planned on going to med school. That's why I chose chemistry as my major. But at the end of the four year mark I was like, “I’m done with this, I’m going to go live [on a] different continent and try something different.” It was just sort of like, hey, why not China? I’m not Chinese, I’m Korean. So it was just a random decision. I turned the globe and just sort of randomly picked China. I didn’t really do that but it was a random decision." 

Q: Why did you decide to come to Prospect? 

A: "I did want to [work near] where I grew up. Des Plaines is where I grew up and I knew that I wanted to be somewhere around this part of Illinois. So I looked around and came across the job posting. Everything happened in less than a week. I got in touch with the science department head and an interview was set up two days after I submitted it. It just happened so quickly. The interviews went really well. I had a great time meeting the team. It was a great experience. I didn’t have to wait multiple months." 

Q: What was your first impression of Prospect?

A: "The diversity of it I feel. There are a lot of small pockets of different cultures that exist at Prospect. That’s something that I really liked. Also the training week was really interesting. I got to read about the different affinity groups that we have. I found it really interesting that there is an Asian American/Pacific Islander affinity group. I feel like District 214 itself is well connected between the six high schools. So I know who I’m going to get in touch with if I need chem help." 

Q: What are you most excited about this year? 

A: "Just being able to teach multiple sections because I’ve only taught one session of each subject. I taught one section of AP chemistry, one section of honors chemistry and one section of standard bio every year. But this year I’m teaching three sections of chem and two sections of bio. I have not done that before. It feels really weird every time that I’m just getting up and doing the same thing again. I like it because I feel like I’m getting better every time that I teach." 

Q: What hobbies do you have outside of work?

A: "I play a lot of golf." 

Q: Would you ever want to coach golf here in the future? A: "I would love to but I also don’t want anyone to feel like I’m trying to push them out of their position. If the opportunity presents itself I definitely won’t say no."

Scott McDermott, a Prospect alumni, has returned to the school years after his stints  at the school as division head for special education and associate principal.

Q: What job do you have at Prospect currently?

A: "Currently, I’m the athletic director."

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: "Well, since 1994. It’s a long time; this is year thirty."

Q: What schools have you taught at in the past?

A: "I was at Glenbrook South as a special education teacher, (and) assistant dean. I also coached softball and speech while I was over there. I was the juggling club sponsor; that’s when I learned that you have to be careful what you say that you’re willing to do, because that’s when they throw, “Ok, you’re now the juggling club sponsor”, and I don’t know how to juggle. I did that, I did a bunch of stuff while I was over there, and then I came to Prospect in 2009 as the division head of special education. I did that for two years, and then I got moved in the second month of school into the associate principal role. I helped out with speech (and) coached speech. Then I went to Wheaton Warrenville South, and that’s where I’ve been for the last three years as principal." 

Q: Why did you decide to return to Prospect?

A: "Well, when you get older, you’re going to figure out that there’s this magnetic draw (at Prospect) that will always keep pulling you back in. You know, I did go to high school here a hundred years ago. That’s why I got into education; this is a very special place. I don’t know if the kids recognize that, because it’s all they know, but when you’ve been in ten different places you can see what a real standard is, and this is it. In addition to that, this position is just one that I’ve always wanted, and the opportunity just to watch kids perform on the fields, courts, wherever; coaches coaching and parents experiencing the highs and lows of their kids; it’s the best job you can possibly have in education."

Q: Are there any sports that you focus on particularly with your role, or do you try to focus on everything?

A: "We’re comprehensive, so to me, I’m very intentional about making sure that we’re bringing focus to all of our programs. So even in the first three weeks here, you’ll see that I put out our weekly video, but I highlight something for people to go to. So I think this week I highlighted volleyball, last week it was cross country’s Senior Night. You know, the big events are easy to get people to go to, because people go to big events; so football, basketball, they’re big draws, but some of the greatest moments that I have experienced in events were volleyball, or out at the tennis court. So for me, my focus is whatever’s in front of me at that moment, on days when we’ve got multiple things here, that’s great; I’ll get to all of them. We don’t want to focus on any one program. I think that anybody that goes out and takes a crack at being on a team deserves the same amount of support."

Q: Were you an athlete in high school?

A: "Was I an athlete? Well, I was on teams, I don’t know that I could be considered an athlete! I did play football here my freshman year, and I had a go around on the baseball field as well; but eventually I did take my talents outside of athletics. I found the stage and speech, and that’s where I spent most of my time sophomore through senior year. I probably went to just about every athletic event that you could when I was in high school."

Q: What do you like about coaching speech and acting?

A: "Being able to work with kids to tell a story, to give them those tools and the confidence that they need to share who they are and what they’re all about, I think is really important. I don’t think there is a greater skill that you can learn in life than speaking. That opens doors for you in incredible ways; I’ve always said that kids who go through the program here with Piccoli and JMO and whoever else is on board at the time, they can walk into any room when they get out of here and nail an interview, and really be able to explain who they are and what they’re all about."

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Prospect?

A: "The people. The people here are just incredible, whether it’s the teachers, the kids, or the parents. I mean, I grew up right down the street, so since the 70s I’ve been part of this community, either in the Mount Prospect side of things or the Arlington Heights side of things. Without the people, what we have here is pretty much nothing. So what I think is just so consistent here is the drive just to bring your best self to the moment, and there are a lot of just genuinely good people in this building. Good humans, and we need that." 

Q: What was it like being associate principal at Prospect and principal at Wheaton Warrenville South? What drew you to those positions?

A: "The opportunity to lead an enormously successful school, it’s tough to turn that down. To be able to kind of feed my interests in academics, co-curricular and the operational side of leadership certainly was really attractive to me. Ultimately what it comes down to at the end, and you start looking at what you’re doing, you want to make sure that what you’re putting in your cup is filled with joy. For me, what brings me the most joy is just getting down to work with kids. This position that I’m in right now is one that allows me to do that. With the other one, I had to kind of manufacture the opportunities to do it. I mean, Mr. Minter’s the same way. He gets pulled in every single direction and we all got into education because of kids, and so I want to make sure that my last five or six years is spent doing what I got into it for. Again, I don’t know how anybody could complain about the type of stuff I get to do."

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: "This is my tenth year teaching. I worked at Morgan Park Academy in Beverly and Butler College Prep, a noble charter school, before that." 

Q: What classes do you teach?

A: "I teach honors chemistry, biology, and medical terminology." 

Q: Which class is your favorite to teach? Why?

A: "My favorite is chemistry. I love the integration of math and science." 

Q: Have you always wanted to be a teacher? If not, what did you want to be?

A: "No, I thought I was going to be doing research in the medical field. In my gap year while I was applying to schools I got the job at Butler and I taught in grad school to undergrad kids and I liked it. It kind of just worked and I kept with it." 

Q: Why did you decide to come work at Prospect?

A: "We now live on the north side of the city so I was looking at schools up here. I just got really lucky at a job fair. I was going around handing out my resume super pregnant thinking no one was going to hire me and Ms. Evans, our division head, really liked me and I got an interview."

Q: What is your favorite part about teaching high school?

A: "I think it's you guys. You want that help and guidance and I think that it's such a pivotal point in your school career and that I can truly have an impact on someone’s future." 

Q: Have you made any coworker friends?

A: "Yes, Mr. Hernandez and I being new teachers together we kind of bonded over the science side of things. Miss Brej, my mentor, she’s awesome. Pretty much everyone in science seems awesome and easy to get along with."

Q: What has been your favorite experience at Prospect so far?

A: "I think just how welcoming I felt like my students were not just on their first day but the first couple weeks. Also, the way that all of the adults get along and you feel supported." 

Q: Are you coaching a sport? If not, what sport would you want to coach?

A: "I’m not coaching. I would like to coach tennis. I played division one tennis in college, I got a full ride. I also played travel soccer for like 12 years so either of those."

Q: What are you most looking forward to this school year?

A: "I’m used to being the only teacher teaching my subject so I think it's cool that I get to be part of a team and I’m learning all the new learning techniques. Also getting to go to sporting events and see you guys do your things." 

Q: Why did you choose to work at Prospect?

A: “I chose to work at Prospect because I used to work in District 214, and I knew what an awesome district it was. So I knew I had to get back in, and when this job opened up I was super excited to come to Prospect.” 

Q: Did you work anywhere before Prospect? Where? 

A: “I used to work at Hersey many years ago, and then I was also in a private practice for mental health therapy for social and emotional support, and then I came here!”

Q: What do you do as a Postsecondary Counseling Assistant at Prospect?

A: “Well I am new this year, so I am learning a lot. And I help Ms. Carroll, she is one of the counselors that help with all of the post secondary counseling information; anything that you guys need I am here to help.”

Q: What do you enjoy the most about your job?

A: “Definitely interacting with the kids, the students. You guys are always so much fun, and so helpful. When you guys come in here you are really looking for some positive interactions, so it is great just to get to see you guys every day.”

Q: What are you looking forward to most this school year?

A: “I think what I am looking forward to the most is trying to learn and remember everybody’s names and faces, like I know as a new staff member sometimes that is hard to do at first, but that is my goal is to get to know everybody. To make new friends and get to know the staff and the students.”

Q: Who/what influenced you to become a Counselor?

A: “Since my undergrad days I had an interest in being a support to kids and students, and so I got into social work, and had my license in social work. So this is just one avenue of supporting students in postsecondary counseling.” 

Q: What activities/sports did you participate in when you went to high school?

A: “I was a swimmer, I played basketball, and I ran track.”

Q: What hobbies do you enjoy outside of school?

A: “I love nature and hiking. I think that is probably my favorite thing. Anything with water and lakes, or boating and I also enjoy reading and traveling with my family.”

Q: Where is your favorite place you have traveled? Top three places you have been?

A: “Well I am from Wisconsin, so I am totally going to be biased and say that I love going back up there and visiting. There is just so many beautiful things up there. I love the Rocky Mountains, my brother lives out there. We spend some time camping in the mountains, so I do really enjoy that. My family also frequents the Cayman Islands, so that is one of our favorite places to go just to be on the beach.”

Q: What is some advice you would give to your students at PHS?

A: “Advice would be this: is to remember to be kind to others, especially now in this day and age. Also to take time to enjoy each day that you are here because it goes by so fast, and then do not ever be afraid to ask. There are no bad questions, or wrong questions, or silly questions. Just do not be afraid to ask. Communicate with staff members because we are here to help.”

Q: Why did you choose to work at Prospect?

A: "Because I wanted to be a part of the U rise." 

Q: Where did you work before?

A: "I was at Wheeling High School for 14 years, I worked in the daycare for 11 years then I worked in assessment for 3 years."

Q: What inspired you to work with Special Ed?

A: "I worked with preschoolers for a long time and then I have children of my own and I had a son who was handicapped and I just always wanted to get back to it."

Q:What was your childhood dream job, did you always want to do Special ed?

A: "I always wanted to be a teacher and I always wanted to work with younger students."

Q: If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go?

A: "I want to go to Portugal."

Q: Who is someone who inspires you and why?

A: "My mom, my mom is the nicest person in the world and we always say in my house that we're gonna be as nice as Nana."

Q: What is your favorite part about being an instructional assistant?

A: "I like working with the kids, I’d been in the assessment center for a couple years and I missed being with the students so I like being with everybody in the classroom again."

Q: What are your hobbies outside of school?

A: "I like to read and I like to ride my bike."

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: "My favorite book is Sarah's Key, it started my love for historical fiction, I just learned a lot, I am not a history person I mean obviously I knew the Germans and I knew about that stuff but it was just like the little stories I didn’t even think about, that I just didn’t know were happening to the Jewish people and I’ve just been fascinated ever since."

Q: What piece of advice do you have for your students?

A: "Try it all. Give it a shot, you never know, you don’t know till you know, you gotta just try it and see if you like it."

Q: What is your role at Prospect?

A: “I am a school psychologist and work in the Student Services Department.”

Q: How long have you been a psychologist?

A: “I have been a school psychologist for six years.”

Q: What did you do before coming to Prospect?

A: “Before coming to Prospect I worked as a school psychologist at another high school in Illinois.”

Q: What would you say is your favorite aspect of your job?

A: “One of the most rewarding aspects of my job involves interacting with students and working directly with them. I've had the opportunity to witness student's growth and development. Being able to help students learn, overcome challenges, and achieve their goals is so fulfilling.” 

Q: Why did you choose to come to Prospect?

A: “I chose to come to Prospect because I saw more opportunities to work directly with students. I believe that the direct interaction with students is where I can make the most meaningful impact.”

Q: Are you involved in any extracurriculars here at Prospect?

A: “I am co-sponsoring "UKnight for Minds" alongside Ms. Smith, one of our new School Social Workers. We are excited to be part of this, which focuses on spreading awareness about mental health. We invite any interested students who want to learn more about ways to promote mental health awareness to reach out to us in student services. Your participation and support are essential in making a positive impact on our school community and fostering a greater understanding of mental health issues.”

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time outside of teaching?

A: “I love to travel, dance, try new restaurants and spend time with loved ones.”

Q: What are you looking forward to most about working here?

A: “I'm looking forward to the opportunity to connect with students and be a resource they can reach out to.”

Q: What do you want students to know about who you are as a person?

A: “My goal is to build meaningful relationships with the Prospect community, engage with their unique perspectives, and contribute to the growth and development of students during their time here. I'm also committed to fostering a positive and inclusive environment and being a trusted resource for all students.”

Q: What made you want to go into education?

A: “Honestly, I feel like I always knew early on that I loved being around kids. When I was little I would line up all my stuffed animals and read to them. So I think it was just like I always knew I wanted to help people in some form, and to be a part of the learning process.”

Q: What are some of your favorite hobbies and pastimes?

A: “I enjoy playing soccer. I also enjoy golfing, hiking, and being outside with my golden retriever Bella. I also like racing cars, that's kind of my hidden hobby because I don’t always talk about it. And of course I like to travel whenever I have the opportunity to.”

Q: What was your background before you came to Prospect?

A: “I started at Eisenhower School as a P.E teacher. I was also coaching soccer which made me realize I enjoyed being around older kids, so I took a position at York High School in Elmhurst. I had a P.E position there. I also taught health and coached boys and girls soccer, and I loved it. Then I got a position for my first administrative job as a dean at Lake Zurich High School.”

Q: What part of your job are you most looking forward to?

A: “Honestly, just being a part of all of this. I think the opportunities for you guys, and even for us, are just so endless here, And no matter what students’ interests are, the fact that we can offer the things that we do. But also the culture here. Everybody is so positive and great. You guys are great, the staff are great, and I think that’s what really makes this school so special.”

Q: What responsibilities do you have with being a Division Head?

A: “My responsibilities are being a part of this team. We now have three deans, which is great. So being a part of a team means that not only do I get to bring ideas to the table, but I’m also learning a lot from Mr. Minter and Mr.Olson as well. Attendance, behavior, and meeting with students and building those connections with them are all part of my job. But also thinking outside the box, which comes back to what we can offer you guys and how we can help you guys learn.”

Q: What do you teach here at Prospect?

A: “I am a special ed teacher. So I kind of bounce around everywhere but I’m teaching a Strats 2 class, and then I’m also in a Human Geo class.

Q: Have you taught anywhere else besides Prospect?

A: “I have not, I have student taught elsewhere, but this is my first job as a new teacher.”

Q: What made you want to be a teacher? Did you always want to be one?

A: “I always knew I wanted to help people, but I didn’t always know I wanted to be a teacher until my senior year of high school is when I kind of determined that I wanted to be a teacher and then go into college solidified it.”

Q: Where did you go to college?

A: “I went to the University of Illinois.”

Q: What did you major in there?

A: “I majored in special education.

Q: Do you have any degrees?

A: “The special education degree… I will be going to get my Master’s soon.”

Q: Will you go to the University of Illinois for your masters?

A: “I don't know, that's kind of up in the air. I might do something a little close to home, online, or I would love to go back to the University of Illinois, but it would have to be online.”

Q: What are you most excited about for your years here at Prospect?

A: “I think the biggest thing is getting involved outside of just the classroom is something that I’m super excited about whether that’s sports or clubs or going to things, just meeting as many new people and new students as I can, is something that’s super huge.”

Q: Do you coach any sports here?

A: “I do. I’m currently coaching boys soccer.”

Q: Have you played soccer before?

A: “I did, I played all of high school and all growing up. I did not play in college though.”

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: “I love interacting with people. I love interacting with students, whether it’s students or staff. I love that aspect and what I’m slowly getting into as the weeks kind of slow down is getting to know my students on more of a deeper level, rather than just ‘Hey, how's your schedule? How are the classes going?’ So really getting to know my students' personalities is something I really enjoy about teaching.”

Q: Would you start a club here at all?

A: “I would love to, I have no idea what club that would be, but I would love to be involved in some way. Whether it’s a student bringing up the club or myself coming up with it.”

Q: Do you have any advice for students here at Prospect?

A: “I think the biggest thing is letting yourself fail before you succeed because you learn so much in that and especially going into college knowing that you don’t have to know exactly what you’re going to do as a senior in high school, even as a junior in high school. You have a big, big opportunity once you’ve graduated.”

Q: Why did you decide to work at Prospect?

A: "My husband actually graduated from Hersey and was a part of district 214 and I know all the schools in district 214 are really great schools, so that was a good reason to work for Prospect."

Q:Where did you work before Prospect?

A: "I worked with district 54 the early learning center so I was actually with younger kids so this is a change for me."

Q: What inspired you to work with Special ed?

A: "My son actually has Autism so that’s part of the reason and I enjoy working with kids, all different types of kids." 

Q: How many years have you been in this career?

A: "I would say this is going to be my 6th year."

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: "I love to bike ride, I play pickle ball, and I like spending time with my family and my friends and I love animals so I have my pets, I love to spend time with them too."

Q: What pets do you have?

A: "I have some cats, a dog and a gecko."

Q: What was your dream career as a child, did you always want to be a teacher?

A: "I always wanted to get into education so this is a good field for me because it's something I’ve always wanted to do, work with kids."

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you travel?

A: "I haven’t been to Hawaii and I really want to go there so I think that would probably be my choice."  

Q: What is your favorite part about working with Special ed?

A: "I think all the kids, all the people each day is different so just having something different and all the people, students around me is the best part."

Q: What is one piece of advice you have for your students?

A: "I would say try to study and prepare yourself for whatever you want to do whether that’s collage or that’s a trade school whatever makes you happy, but also remember to have some fun and try to join some clubs and just enjoy yourself in High School." 

Q: What college did you go to and what did you major in?

A: “I went to the University of Louisville in Kentucky. I majored in math and then got my education certification.”

Q: What influenced you to want to become a teacher?

A: “I wanted to become a teacher because I always thought they were superheroes. They had so many different types of superpowers from class management to relationships with your kids. I felt like they could just do it all.”

Q: Why did you want to teach math? What math do you currently teach?

A: “I love numbers. Numbers came very easily to me. I love that there’s different pathways to solving one problem and you can all get the same answer. I teach geometry and algebra 2. I’m also a part of the aim program which is math intervention here.”

Q: What activities did you do growing up?

A: “Growing up I tried it all but specifically about high school I was a three sport athlete. I did cheerleading for the football team in the fall, played varsity basketball and varsity soccer all four years.”

Q: Will you coach a sport here?

A: “I’ve been coaching girls basketball here for a couple of years already but this year I will be assistant coach for varsity girls basketball and girls soccer.”

Q: What are you most excited for this year?

A: “Being able to build relationships with my students and athletes is what I’m really excited for. I’m also excited for being involved with activities outside of the classroom. I want to support my kids and students. The community here is incredible.”

Q: What are some of your favorite hobbies?

A: “I’m really into working out, especially being a morning person. I love audible books just to stay focused and educated. Of course I love crocs. They’re my favorite.”

Q: How long have you been at Prospect?

A: "Well, 2 days." 

Q: What are some of your hobbies?

A: "I enjoy baking, I really enjoy traveling and spending time outside; like going on walks." 

Q: What inspired you to become a counselor?

A: "During the pandemic… I was reevaluating what I wanted to do for my career essentially for the next 5, 10, 15 years from now, so I started rethinking what my values were, what I wanted to do. I did a lot of research on my other career paths and I came across school counseling. I did get my undergrad in psychology- that was kind of the background into it, and once I started my master’s program, I realized that this was a really good route to go into for my next job." 

Q: What’s the biggest challenge you had to overcome?

A: "Communication was a big challenge to overcome. Because you can try communicating with people who speak different languages. I’ve gone to a lot of different countries and being able to communicate beyond the same page with someone or trying to get directions somewhere, or even just speaking with people who may have broken English or you have a broken language in something else. So communicating and getting your message across is what I think is the biggest challenge to overcome." 

Q: What’s the most unexpected thing (so far) that came with being a counselor?

A: "You never really know what’s going to come to your desk, or essentially a phone call… you just need to be prepared. There’s always going to be these random requests that come in, and that’s just with any job… There’s always going to be situations or things that you’ve maybe never seen before that you’ll come across… so you always have to keep an open mind and be humble." 

Q: What were you like in high school?

A: "I was really quiet and I was that kid that was never in a group. You would find me taking to different people all throughout the day, but I was never kind of “clicks I guess you could say. Yes, I played sports and talked to the people who were on my team, but I’d also talk to any other “cliché” group." 

Q: What was your childhood dream job?

A: "I really wanted to be a person on a ranch, so I wanted to work on a ranch and take care of horses." 

This is Megan Zeivel’s first year at Prospect High School. She graduated from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a major in art education in 2022. She teaches 3-D Art and Photography 1. She also coaches the girls lacrosse team. 

Q: How did you get into art?

A: "In high school I always took all the fine art electives that I could. Senior year I was in AP art and I just always knew I wanted to become a teacher and then the two kind of came together." 

Q: What’s the difference between 3-D Art and other art classes at Prospect?

A: "In 3D you’re obviously using 3D materials versus painting, drawing and photography. In 3D we use things like clay, glass, metal, paper, all different sorts of stuff like that." 

Q: Have you had more of an interest in 3-D Art?

A: "I feel like I actually was more of a painter/drawer when I was a little younger and then as I did my student teaching I got more into 3-D Arts."

Q: How did you get hired at Prospect?

A: "I was working at a K-8 school in Bannockburn and I always knew that I wanted [to teach] high school. I went to a job fair for District 214 and there [were] a ton of other districts there. Mr. Mirandola and I had a great meeting and then Mr. Minter and I had a meeting and it kinda just took off from there. I came in [two more times] and then I got hired and I was freaking out because this is the coolest place to work."

Q: What was your first impression of the school?

A: "I grew up kind of around here, I went to Glenbrook South and I feel like it was a pretty similar high school. I knew that the kids liked to go here and the staff liked to go here so that’s just what was important to me."  

Q: What are you most excited for at Prospect?

A: "I think I’m most excited to be a part of things in art and also around the building and other stuff like that. Just getting as involved as I can. I feel like also watching kids progress from one class to the next and see their work and knowing that they might have started with me or ended with me. Even if they're not amazing artists [but still] having something that they enjoy during their time here, that would be great." 

Q: What were your first impressions of the school?

A: "I felt like it’s a big high school, lots of school pride. I feel like there was a definite sense of community. Clubs were important, sports were important. I just knew that there was going to be something for everyone. It’s kind of like one of those high schools that you would imagine in a movie or something. It’s just kind of reminding me of my high school experience."

Q: What kind of environment do you want to build in your classroom?

A: "As long as there's respect on both ends between [my students and I]. Just also a super fun social environment. I feel like the best part of the art section is that it’s not about lecturing the whole time or notes. You are taking it just hands on. Once I get to talk for that 10-15 minutes in the beginning [of class], it's kind of just open. As long as you’re working you can be talking and also meeting new people." 

Q: What hobbies do you have?

A: "I coach lacrosse. I play lacrosse in an adult league. I love sports. [Also doing] art on my own. I love my dogs, also taking walks. Walking is how I ease my mind."

Q: Why did you get into teaching?

A: “The biggest reason would be just the joy of seeing a student's face light up when they finally make the connection of seeing how to solve a math problem specifically along with just growing up throughout high school, I would help my friends in math classes with their homework and studying and so that's kind of how I fell in love with being able to guide people on their their math journeys.”

Q: Where did you study?

A: “Illinois State University”

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: “Rolling Meadows”

Q: How was summer school teaching at Hersey?

A: “It was awesome. It was really cool because in district 214 They have all of the district go to the same summer school. So I had kids from Wheeling, Elk Grove, Meadows, Hershey, and Prospect. So it's really cool. That experience of just seeing the different demographics that come from all the schools, and then being able to run a classroom with everyone from each school smoothly and building relationships with people outside of their school I thought was a really cool idea.”

Q: Why did you come to Prospect?

A: “I was a basketball baseball player when I was in high school and every time we faced Prospect, whether that was at home or at prospect [I felt] the student spirit. I think that it was the most amount of students at a basketball game I'd ever seen. They were super loud and rowdy, which I love to see and I love to play against or with. So that really sparked my interest in Prospect. I also really do enjoy Colombia. I really like the light blue.”

Q: Are you excited for the year?

A: “I'm super excited. I mean, Homecoming is coming up. So we have that spirit week coming up. I really enjoy those days just to see what type of people that my students are, and being able to wear what you want for that theme. So that's enjoyable, but just the change through the seasons because I know each person likes their own season. Just seeing how kids act when it's wintertime, or when it's right before spring, or right before summer or just how they act and how the classroom atmosphere goes along with that.”

Q: What’s your opinion of Prospect so far?

A: “I definitely would say that Prospect is very, very bright. I mean, everyone's very happy to be here. They want to learn. I'm not saying that the other schools don't have that. I just feel like that energy here is the greatest that I've seen from all the other schools.”

Q: Do you have any pets?

A: “I did have a dog growing up, which I would love to get one right now, but I’m just trying to settle in first. If I were to have a dog I would say probably a golden retriever or a yellow lab.”

Q: What are your favorite hobbies?

A: “During COVID is when I fell in love with tennis. So that was a big thing that my family and friends started playing a lot more. Then that transitioned into pickleball which has just been the highlight of my summer, competitively or for fun. And then I would say number two would be golf. I'm a retired baseball player. So a lot of them kind of go towards golf. It's a very frustrating game but it's just like baseball. It's very mental and you have to be prepared for any type of shot and any type of situation. Then I would say that I really enjoy bike rides. I usually go to paths like Busey Woods. And then I enjoy watching any type of sport on TV. So whether that's baseball, basketball, hockey, football, or soccer. Even pickle ball has been on recently.”