Every year, some fresh faces arrive in the staff department. Get to know them a little better in these interviews!
Mr. McCoy, Physical Education
Interview by: Gabriel Giraud
Why did you decide to become an educator?
“I decided to pursue education because of my desire not to sit at a desk for hours on end and because I enjoy it.”
What do you like about Atholton so far?
“I appreciate how welcoming the staff and community have been. The students have also been fantastic and have made the move from middle to high school very easy.”
Ms. Joseph, Spanish
Interview by: Ethan Lewis
What was your dream job as a kid?
“I wanted to be an actress, a stage actress.”
Why didn’t you become an actress?
“Well…life. It’s one of those things that doesn’t give you a lot of money to make. But I would have loved to be a stage actress, like serious plays, not musicals. I would love that, but you know, teaching is a little like that. Everybody’s paying attention to you.”
Mr. Thompson, Math
Interview by: Kyle Tracht
What do you like about Atholton so far?
“I love all my students, whether they know it or not, and I like to pretend I don’t in front of them, but I really do. That’s probably my favorite part, but I also like all the teachers in the Math Department. They’ve been really welcoming and they’ve been a lot of fun to hang out with and get to know inside and outside of school.”
Ms. DiBenedetto, Art
Interview by: Quinton Townsend
What do you like about Atholton so far?
“I love how welcoming this place is. I just felt instantly at home, all
the staff members and as well as the students, and I just think its a really genuinely nice place.”
What was your dream job as a child?
“A firefighter or a police officer. With firefighter, I just lost interest. With police officer, it just makes me sad that I’ll be making an influence after someone [commits] a crime when I’d much rather make a positive influence before that happens, and influence people to continue on the path of positivity. I think that my time would be better spent doing that instead of reprimanding people already.”
Who is your favorite artist?
“My favorite artist to emulate is Chuck Close. He does hyperrealism which makes images look like photographs, but they’re painted. That is a goal of mine.”
What is your ideal dinner like?
“Grilled cheese and tomato soup. I like to keep it simple.”
Ms. Gibbons, Special Education
Interview by: Eric Wyman
Why did you decide to become an educator?
“I had an awesome peer mentor in high school and it really inspired me to want to teach special education. I’m now at the same school as Ms. Johnson, our team leader, who was my teacher when I was a peer mentor.”
Who was someone you looked up to and thought was inspirational?
“My mom. She is the strongest person I know, and is always there for me, and always encouraging me, and has been through a lot. She has a thing with humor and positivity, and I try to be like that even though it’s really hard. She is my role model for sure.”
Officer Guizzotti, Security Officer
Interview by: Chloe Shader
What did you do before coming to Atholton?
“I’m a retired Baltimore city police officer, so this is a second career for me. I came from Centennial High School.”
What do you do in your spare time?
“I’m a huge foodie. In my spare time, my wife and I do a lot of traveling. We go to the Caribbean, three times a year: Christmas, spring break, and a week in July. Favorite food–I love Italian food. Favorite TV show–Supernatural. Unfortunately [my favorite character] got killed off. Crawley, I love Crawley.”
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