With the start of a new year at the Gatton Academy comes several new personalities to the staff. We are excited about these passionate and dedicated individuals who have joined our team. They come to us from different parts of the country with a host of varied experiences. Over the last few weeks, the staff has had a chance to get to know each other. It’s now your chance to meet the new faces behind the Academy. Each day this week, we’ll profile a new staff member.
Academy Avatars sat down with each new staff member to post ten questions in hopes of getting to know them better. Avatars came up with five questions that we asked each person. Each Avatar also posed five unique questions of their own choosing to ask as well.
Up next is Ami Karlge, the Coordinator: Study Skills.
Interview by Ballard Metcalfe, Academy Avatar
1. Why did you decide to join the Gatton Academy staff?
I wanted to take a break from graduate school, where I am studying the history of medicine and the history of bioethics. I wanted to stay close to the teaching profession. I found out about the Academy through my brother, Sean, who attends here.
2. Where did you attend college and what subjects did you study?
I attended Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. I studied History of Science with a focus in 20th Century Biology and Medicine.
3. What are you looking forward to the most about the coming school year?
I am looking forward to being surrounded by the students. In graduate school, you do some teaching, but that is only a few days a week. Here, I am looking forward to being around the students all the time.
4. What do you think makes the Gatton Academy a unique educational experience?
I believe that everyone’s dedication makes this unique. The students are not necessarily just focussed on doing homework or taking an exam, but they are truly dedicating to learning and have a passion for doing so.
5. What contributions do you hope to make to life at the Gatton Academy?
I will be facilitating the study hours, making sure that there is a quiet environment suitable for everyone to study. However, I do not want to look at this through the lens of “sucking the fun out.”
6. If you could be a superhero, who would you be or what superpowers would you have?
I do not know of many superheroes, but I would choose Wonder Woman. If I could have any superpower, I would have the ability to go without sleep. It always seems like there is not enough time to do everything that I would like to do, and having some extra time could allow me to pursue some hobbies that I have been neglecting.
7. From whom do you get your inspiration?
I get most of my inspiration from my teachers. There are even some teachers that I have kept in touch with for 10-12 years! For example, I will still get together and have dinner with my high school teacher who taught me how to write. She was such an inspiration to me.
8. What three words describe you best?
Thoughtful, Teacher, and Learner
I am thoughtful by being both considerate and deliberate in my actions. I have been a teacher for so long, from my beginnings as a swim instructor, to now how I teach study skills. This has been a big part of my life. Being a learner is also something that I have been for my whole life, and it is an integral part of who I am.
9. What is your favourite place to eat?
Christopher’s. This is a pub in Cambridge, MA. They have a great dish called Yuppy Nachos, which are nachos smothered with things one may find in a whole foods store, such as sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and goat cheese.
10. Is there anything that you know now that you did not at our age that you wish now you had?
Education is worth it; keep putting in the hard work and it will pay off.