Teacher Spotlight
Learn more about the Teacher of the Year and the Teacher of the Quarter by Caroline Fortiz
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eacher of the Year, Lisa Brandon, took a very non-traditional route of becoming a teacher. She studied English in college and soon after joined the Peace Corps. This volunteer organization sent her to Africa where she taught kids English. After falling in love with this line of work, she decided to become a teacher. Here at Mountain View, Brandon teaches ESOL, or English to Speakers of Other Languages. Her knowledge of English, French, and her ability to pick up Spanish have made her extremely successful with helping others. Brandon’s favorite part about being a teacher is the relationships that she is able to develop with the students. She expressed, “It’s really exciting to see how much they have grown and achieved by the end.” Especially at Mountain View, everyone has such a level of enthusiasm and is always willing to help each other out. Brandon happily explained that she has the coolest job and wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. When she is not teaching, Brandon loves to read, travel, and spend time with her family. Recently, she has been very interested in books about wildlife conservation, very different from her usual fiction books. Regarding both travel and family time, she is very excited to visit her daughter who lives in New York City because they are planning to watch a Broadway show together. She made it clear how close the bond is between her and her daughter. In fact, as a Christmas gift, her daughter contacted former students asking for quotes from them. These quotes were then put onto the cover of a journal that Brandon carries around with her everywhere. Each message from past and present students was sincere and truly showed what an impact she has made on their lives. One thing that Brandon wishes is that there were more hours in the day for her to be able to help others. It is evident how naturally altruistic she is and how much she supports each and every one of her students. Senior, Luis Pagoada, stated, “She’s very inspiring and a good problem fixer. I know that I can always go to her for anything”. The relationship developed between herself and her students will be one remembered by them for a lifetime.
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anielle O’Toole was voted by Mountain View’s National Honor Society as Teacher of the Quarter. After growing up surrounded by influential teachers, O’Toole decided that she wanted to be able to have the same impact on others. O’Toole has been teaching at Mountain View for the past six years, Biology being her favorite subject. She exclaimed that the family atmosphere at Mountain View is different than anywhere else. She loves that everybody is supportive and school-spirited. O’Toole’s favorite part about being a teacher, although there are many, is that every day brings something different–no day is the same as the last. In her free time, you can mostly catch her traveling, hiking, or exercising. If she’s not somewhere around the world like in Canada, the Dominican Republic, or the Grand Canyon, she may be at one of the club meetings that she sponsors. These clubs include the Interact Club, the Cancer Awareness Club, and the Environmental Science Club. Another thing you may be surprised to find her participating in is MMA classes. She took part in these classes when she was just out of college as a women’s self-defense course. With everything that she is involved in, sometimes it can be difficult to balance time for both work and home. She has learned from her own experiences, as well as from others, that some days people aren’t able to give their all-time best. O’Toole explained that “everybody has stuff going on in their lives and it is important to give grace. Maybe they are having an off day, so you should appreciate anything that they can give.” This is especially prevalent today with the pandemic and everything going on. It is evident how impactful O’Toole’s style of teaching is after interviewing some of her past students. Senior, Savannah Rounds, described her as a very understanding and kind-hearted person. Rounds recommends that students “create a bond with her because she’s really nice and offers a lot of help.” Similarly, junior, Amelia Thibodeau stated that “she will do everything to help you be successful.” Although Rounds and Thibodeau had O’Toole their freshman year, both happily recounted their experiences with her as well as her kindness, hard work, and dedication that made a lasting influence on them.
feature u january | february 2022 u the viewpoint u 05
