Leading Ladies: Students nominated five influential female faculty members in honor of Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month — a celebration of the vital role women have played in history and their achievements both past and present. 

In honor of Women’s History month, The Harbinger is showcasing the female teachers and faculty members who lead and influence the Lancer community — as nominated by students via a Harbinger Instagram poll.

These women are just a few — among many at East — that embody what it means to celebrate Women’s History Month.

The floor was on fire. 

Sophomore Ishya Bhavsar watched in shock as her chemistry teacher set the tiled floor of the classroom aflame. On purpose.

The chemistry teacher in question, Susan Hallstrom, was introducing a unit on reaction rates by setting a line of hexane on fire with only a couple minutes left of Bhavsar’s Honors Chemistry class.

“Hallstrom put [the fire] right in front of the door,” Bhavsar said. “So I was wanting it to go out before the bell rang.”

But it doesn’t matter if Hallstrom’s demonstrations scare her students because they know that there’s no other classroom in which they’d rather have their first exposure to chemistry.

Hallstrom allows students to collaborate on “independent” problem sets and worksheets, which Bhavsar feels makes for an engaging and even enjoyable chemistry environment. If students are struggling, an individual problem normally turns into a whole-class discussion with students teaming up to work through it together, according to Bhavsar.

Hallstrom’s electric energy, effortless humor and friendly demeanor act as a magnet for students that are accustomed to lecture-style teaching and mind-numbing worksheets. Whether it’s asking constant questions during a lesson or shooting fellow chemistry teacher Steven Appier with a NERF gun, Hallstrom has an uncanny ability to keep students engaged without even trying.

“[Hallstrom’s humor] makes the class enjoyable because we’re watching silly videos and singing songs and all that sort of thing, which makes it a little bit less stressful,” sophomore Sophie Leonard said. “It’s a hard class, but she makes it digestible.”

As a humanities-and-debate-oriented student, Leonard has always dreaded her science classes — until this year. Now she’s inspired to take IB Chemistry 2 next year because of her newfound appreciation and interest in the science world after taking Honors Chemistry.

She’s learned that it’s OK to make mistakes because the entire class makes mistakes together, Hallstrom included. When Hallstrom occasionally misspells an acid or misreads a number, Leonard feels like she’s just discussing chemistry with a friend.

Along with planning lessons and daily trips to the copier, Hallstrom is also the assistant boys’ and girls’ tennis coach — making her busier during the fall and spring. But even with her packed schedule, Hallstrom makes herself easily accessible — encouraging her students to come in before or after school with questions. Bhavsar, a varsity tennis player, has Hallstrom as both a coach and a teacher.

“One time after tennis practice, I asked her for help with chem homework, and she was definitely ready to help which was so nice of her because that’s obviously not what she had to be doing right then,” Bhavsar said. “But she helped me anyway.”

Hallstrom understands that high school students have many different demands on their time, from sports to friend drama. Instead of getting frustrated when a student can’t make up work, she reminds herself that her class isn’t the only thing on students’ minds. 

“I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that no kid can have too many caring adults in their life,” Hallstrom said. “I want to be a caring adult in people’s lives, and I mean it. I do care about my kids deeply. I want nothing but good things for them.”

Both Bhavsar and sophomore Jaxson Terreros spend extra time with Hallstrom after school in order to get a more detailed explanation of a concept, homework help or in Terreros’ case, pass his mastery tests — quizzes students must score above a baseline percentage on to pass. According to Terreros, he’s infamous for “not doing so hot” on his masteries. 

But with hours of practice, tips from Hallstrom after school and 19 different attempts, he was finally able to pass his significant figures mastery.

“Teachers who are like Hallstrom, who are friends with you and are actively being outgoing and doing fun things in a lesson to make you remember stuff, you don’t really lose those bonds throughout high school and you’ll still keep in touch, even if it’s just a simple nod in the hallway,” Terreros said. “You’re always gonna keep in touch with that kind of teacher because they always stick with you in life.”

You might walk up to the cash register in the lunchroom on your phone with a grumbling stomach, only looking up to punch in your student ID and ask the lunch lady for a bag of fruit snacks. Or you may be one of many who stop and chat with lunchroom manager Linda Bricker about your weekends. 

While Bricker’s job description is focused on managing money and making sure food gets ordered and cooked, there’s nothing quite like that lunchtime rush. That’s when she learns your name through a conversation about your spring break or the math test you have after lunch. Sounds like a conversation you’ve had with her? Probably.

“Lunch is the best time for me,” Bricker said. “All of the other stuff is just work, but it’s so much fun to have the kids come in, and I get to know them. When they graduate it’s kind of heartbreaking.”

Her conversations range from students telling her about their tennis tournament over the weekend to Bricker telling them what she did with her grandkids. Through seemingly small conversations everyday during lunchtime rushes, Bricker has become an influential staff member at East for students like junior Abi Limbird. 

“Honestly, she is one of my favorite parts about going into the lunchroom,” Limbird said. “I only eat lunch at the school twice a week at most and sometimes I bring my own lunch, but I’ll go into the lunchroom just to see her, just to ask her how she’s been, just to talk with my girl.”

Growing up eating in SMSD lunchrooms, Limbird recalls being served by female-dominated lunch staffs. While Bricker says that kitchens are improving toward having more male staff members and managers, East’s lunchroom is all women.

“This could totally be me stereotyping, but women I see as more caring figures, and I’m conditioned to think that because they’re giving me food, they’re caring for me,” Limbird said.

This year the lunch staff is three workers short, as two women man the cash registers in a room swarmed with hungry high schoolers. Bricker has become used to it.

“I feel as though cafeteria staff are kind of mocked sometimes, but they really do so much,” Limbird said. “I don’t know how else to explain it: they’re feeding us food, they’re making sure we’re fed. [Bricker] does a lot for the school that we take for granted, I think that all those women do.”

And through little spurs of chit-chat — where kids will say things that they probably shouldn’t say, according to a chuckling Bricker — Limbird has learned about her grandkids and developed a closer appreciation for Bricker and her entire female-dominated lunch staff — viewing them as the “grandmothers of East.”

“Since most of them are in their later years, they seem like the grandmothers of East, they’re making sure you’re fed and taking care of you,” Limbird said. “I know that Linda — we’re on a first name basis — has grandkids because when I ask her what she did over the weekend, she always talks about how she got to visit her grandkids. I know she’s a grandma, and I see her as a staff grandma.”

Bricker smiled at the idea of that, mentioning her 14-year-old grandson who she’s reminded of through conversations with lunchroom-goers.

“I get really attached to the kids who come through here,” Bricker said. “I think they know we’re not gonna judge them, we’re not going to yell at them if they do anything wrong. We’re just gonna feed them.”

Then-sophomore Emaline Handzel ran down the third floor hallway. Her mom called and had just been accepted into nursing school. Handzel knew exactly who she’d tell first: her Exploring Medical Careers teacher Carolyn Bossung. She’d be just as excited as Handzel to hear the news.

“[Bossung] was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so proud of her,’” Handzel said. “She doesn’t know [my mom] but she was happy for her and then we just talked about it for a minute. It [was] so exciting, and it really felt like she cared and I was happy to share the news with her.”

Now a junior in Bossung’s Human Anatomy and Physiology class, Handzel goes to her for everything. When she needed a teacher recommendation letter for her Clinical Investigations class at the Center for Academic Achievement, she immediately asked Bossung. When she’s confused about an anatomy concept or uneasy during a field trip to the cadaver lab, Bossung’s there for support.

But that’s just the kind of teacher Bossung is. She’s the teacher to ask about Handzel’s club volleyball schedule so she can come cheer her on at a game. She’s the teacher who challenges her students to draw the parts of a heart in one minute instead of lecturing about it.

“I’ve been in so many science classes where it’s just [filling] out the notes and then [doing] the homework,” Handzel said. “I’ve never really learned from that, but when she actually puts it into perspective or like makes it relatable for teenagers, it’s a lot easier to understand.”

Bossung designs her classes to teach students more about the medical field, but she knows that not everyone taking the Exploring Medical Careers class will work in the industry.

“I’ve had students come back to me from Exploring Medical Careers and [tell me], ‘I realized in this class that I didn’t want to go into a medical career and that I wanted to go into something completely different,’” Bossung said. “But the way I kind of have the class set up is so that they can explore other things if that’s what they realize they want to do, and they really appreciated me just encouraging them to follow their own path.”

Bossung thrives in her career by maintaining relationships with her students. It’s a priority for her after the pandemic. Teaching over the computer while students had their cameras off led her to question whether teaching was something she wanted to continue.

Now, Bossung is happy she kept teaching, and she doesn’t take building relationships for granted. And this doesn’t go unnoticed. Junior Eve Benditt is in Bossung’s Exploring Medical Careers Class and appreciates how Bossung makes the classroom a “community.” Compared to other classes that are mostly lecture-based, Bossung’s teaching style — through presentations and discussions — allows Benditt to better grasp the concepts.

“At least once a week we have what she calls circle time,” Benditt said. “Where we all arrange the desks in a circle and everyone talks about highs and lows and something you’re looking forward to from the week. And especially since the class has so much presentation, it’s helpful to be able to be giving presentations to people that you know a little bit more about.”

Bossung is Benditt’s mentor teacher for her internship with Play Abilities — a pediatric physical therapy office in Corinth Square. Instead of going to seventh hour, Benditt assists a pediatric physical therapist and she appreciates having Bossung as a resource to answer questions that she isn’t able to ask during her shift.

“I’ll be working with kids that have genetic conditions that I don’t necessarily know a whole bunch about,” Benditt said. “Having her as a resource to answer questions that I didn’t get a chance to ask when I was in the clinic is super helpful.”

Then-ninth grader Luisa Mills knew she wanted to be a physical therapist — it would allow her to help people, but provide consistent work — until she stepped foot in Jennifer Hair’s Intro to Digital Design course in room 508.

Her whole perspective was permanently changed.

Mills credits Hair for redirecting her secondary education plan all together. She chose to continue in digital design through her classes throughout high school. As she grew, she noticed that she had a knack for design when her father suggested she do it professionally. Now, Mills is a freshman at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA and is majoring in graphic design.

“That woman is the reason I am where I am today, and I couldn’t thank her enough for that,” Mills said. “I’ve never been happier than I am at college. Sometimes I just sit and think, ‘What if I went to a big public school to do physical therapy and hated my life?'”

Mills attests her success to Mrs. Hair — her positivity and encouraging words empowered Mills to continue.  

“It was Mrs. Hair, her belief in me and how she always says, ‘Just try. Don’t give up, just try it.’” Mills said.

Hair doesn’t just change career paths either —  Hair’s classroom has provided a safe place for many students. There are three things you can expect when walking into room 508: colorful decor, a smile with a “Good Morning!” from Mrs. Hair and upbeat music or a podcast over the speakers. For many, room 508 is an unofficial home room. You can always find a minimum of two students discussing designs or just day-to-day life. 

Whether she’s assessing a color scheme, supporting a student by sending their family a meal when they’re in need or simply providing advice for high school drama, her passion never fails to seep through. Hair says that she wants school to be a happy place for kids.

“I want students to want to come to school,” Hair said. “We spend so much of our time at school — we should love it.”

Mills shares that Hair’s passion is infectious — it’s evident that she loves what she does, making her impossible to ignore. 

“She is just so passionate about what she does that you can’t help but pay attention and listen to every single word she says,” Mills said. “Honestly, it’s her energy. It’s infectious.”

300 pages analyzing female artists. 

That’s how many AP Literature teacher Amy Anderson needed to write to complete her dissertation and earn her doctorate. All while planning and grading for her Writers’ Workshop and AP classes.

Andersen is pursuing her doctorate in interdisciplinary studies at the University of Missouri Kansas City with 60% of her focus on literature and 40% on history. Her research includes fictional representations of female artists in 19th-century British literature.

To stay organized, Andersen created a spreadsheet for her grades with details of what she’d be grading on which day. This way she would know her plan for the rest of the week and when she’d have spare time to write.

Balancing writing a novel-length paper while simultaneously holding classes at East means taking sick days off to write or sacrificing four or more hours of sleep per month.

But she doesn’t mind sacrificing rest. In love with her work and the UMKC community, she’s maintained motivation.

“My mom says I didn’t learn to walk, I just started running and never stopped,” Andersen said. “And I think that describes everything I do.”

Andersen recognized during her research process that she could incorporate the researching skills she’s using into her literature classes. Her research while receiving her master’s degree was in creative writing where she first became interested in Victorian literature.

Her research focused on women artists like painters or photographers who broke the gender boundaries of art for the time. She felt passionate about this topic and that she could pursue a dissertation based upon it.

“I think I would encourage anyone considering [a doctorate degree] to definitely think carefully before committing,” Andersen said. “It’s really not worth it for any kind of external reward. You have to intrinsically love what you’re doing for it to be worthwhile, but for people who love it as much as I do, I would say absolutely.”