Great Hearts Welcomes Faculty From Across the World

At Great Hearts, our teachers come from near and far, across cities, states, and even oceans, to be part of the mission of Great Hearts to cultivate the minds and hearts of our students. This year’s New Faculty Orientation (NFO) was a powerful reminder of that as we welcomed new faculty from Germany, Canada, Australia, China, the Philippines, South Korea, and Ireland. Each brings with them international perspectives and global experiences that bring something unique to our academies and community.

As Jerilyn Olson, Chief People Officer for Great Hearts, opened one of the sessions, she continued a long-standing tradition at NFO to acknowledge the incredible distances many of our teachers have made to join our academies. “We know that many of you have had quite a journey to get here,” Olson said to the audience. “Was your last mailing address outside the United States?”

One new faculty members who answered that question and made such a journey is Abel Wilson, a fifth-grade teacher assistant at Archway Scottsdale. “What brought me here to Great Hearts is the Department of Defense’s SkillBridge program,” he explained. For Wilson, a 20-year Air Force veteran, the program allows military service members nearing the end of their active duty to work in civilian roles. Though now in Arizona, he is still technically stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. “It’s about an hour and a half west of Frankfurt… beautiful wine country and the people and food are spectacular.”

Coming from Venezuela, Miguel Colmenares has come a long way to teach biology at Great Hearts Anthem. “I came to the US to study liberal arts at Thomas Aquinas College, and after I finished my studies there, Great Hearts approached me at school,” he shared. “I thought it was going be a great place to develop the things that I learned at school, and also help kids develop their critical thinking skills and just use their minds towards the good.”

Olivia Drapeau, a first-grade teacher assistant at Archway Veritas, also brings international experience to the classroom. Though a Phoenix native, Drapeau spent some time living abroad. “Last year, I moved to Ireland for a year. So, I was living in Cork,” she shared. There, she worked as a barista while exploring Ireland and surrounding countries. Upon returning to the United States, she sought out Great Hearts because of a deep connection to its mission. “I had known of Great Heart Schools and knew I liked the mission… It really is integrated into everything about Veritas and Great Heart Schools. I think that’s a big takeaway.”

From even further away, Norjhon Jala traveled from the Philippines to join Great Hearts Roosevelt as an ESS (Exceptional Student Services) math interventionist. “I’m doing a cultural exchange program from the Philippines and the United States,” Jala said. With nearly a decade of teaching experience in his home country, he noted the differences in classroom culture and way of teaching. “It’s very different, especially that we are teaching in the traditional way here, classical way… The classroom setting, it’s very different.”

Each of these voices represent the rich backgrounds and global character of the faculty that have come together for the shared pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. “From across the street or across the world,” added Olson, “we are so grateful that you are here, that you made that journey. And we hope in the next couple days, you can call this place home.”

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.