Erica Cung will join the mathematics department, teaching AP Statistics and Honors Algebra 2. She will be substituting for her sister, math teacher Dr. Bianca Cung, who will be on maternity leave.
“Before I worked at Harker, I was a substitute teacher in South Dakota in the Rapid City Area School District,” Cung said. “I’m from here, and my sister, Dr. [Bianca] Cung actually works here, and she said, ‘come here and teach and have a good time.’”
Favorite food: noodles and dumplings
Favorite video game: Stardew Valley
Dr. Sohrab Ghassemi will join the history department, teaching AP US History and World History. He is substituting for history teacher Dr. Chris Gatto, who will be on paternity leave for the first semester.
“I am a big proponent of discussion and getting students comfortable with public speaking, so I’m looking forward to having Socratic seminars,” Ghassemi said. “I will be curious, as we study history, if students will end up making connections to their own lives today and maybe have questions about that. I think it would be a very important part of my job to be able to help them answer those questions that they have.
Looking forward to: class discussions
Fun fact: self-described “map geek”
David Kilpatrick will join the speech and debate department teaching Speech 1, Speech 2 and Limited Prep & Congress. He takes on the role of retired speech and debate teacher Scott Odekirk, working jointly at the high school and middle school.
“I’ve worked at Harker as an assistant for the speech and debate team for the last couple of years, and I had a really good time with both the students and the teachers,” Kilpatrick said. “Working with Greg [Achten] and Jenny [Achten] is really great. It felt very familiar, and I also have a lot of family in the area. Teaching in a classroom will be really fun, and I’m excited to go to a ton of tournaments with the team.”
Hobby: weightlifting
Favorite movie: Solaris by Andrei Tarkovsky
Dipti Shingnapurkar will join the chemistry department teaching Chemistry and Honors Chemistry.
“My love for chemistry and my passion for teaching brought me here,” Shingnapurkar said. “I am looking forward to creating awareness about chemistry and the different careers in STEM. I want my students to be as enthusiastic about STEM careers as I am.”
Fun fact: has two left feet and is terrible at dancing
Connie Poulsen-Hollin will take on the role of director of library services, replacing retired Lauri Vaughan.
“I’m really looking forward to just getting to know the kids so I can support them no matter what their needs are,” Poulsen-Hollin said. “I really want to develop those relationships. They are always more than welcome to come say hi, and I want to know, ‘What are you reading? What are you researching? What are you passionate about?’ And hopefully, do whatever I can do to help each and every student on their journey.”
Fun fact: drives an orange car
Favorite food: fish and fruits
Dr. Zane Moore will join the science department teaching AP Biology, Honors Advanced Research and the new elective, Honors Bioinformatics.
“I really like anything outdoors,” Dr. Moore said. “A lot of that’s hiking and camping. I enjoy trying to climb mountains to get to the top of the summits. I also like going in the forest and looking for cool plants or looking for mushrooms. So I’m interested in finding biology in a bunch of neat, weird places.”
Favorite tree: bonsai bristlecone pine
Favorite song: Symphony No.2 by Mahler
Paulina Reynoso will join Harker’s counseling team as an assistant counselor. She will arrange counseling meetings and provide support for students.
“I like adventure,” Reynoso said. “I’ve done skydiving, I’ve had the opportunity to hike Half Dome in Yosemite. My background is more tech and business. When there was an opportunity to work among students and with students, I just felt like it was something different and I wanted to try it out. This is a new adventure for me. I want to see what the future holds, and you guys are the ones to take us there.”
Favorite animal: her cat Gato