Staff stats: Meet the new Addison Trail staff members for the 2014-15 school year

Each week, District 88 will feature a new Addison Trail staff member to introduce you to the school’s newest members.

Meet Mayra Carrera

Title:
Physical education teacher and teacher aide at Addison Trail

Education background:
I received my bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I). There, I also earned my teacher certification and health endorsement.

Career background:
I worked at Saint Thomas Catholic School in Philo as a physical education/Spanish teacher for two years after graduating from U of I. I taught pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and coached middle school track and volleyball. I also was an assistant high school girls basketball coach for two years at University of Illinois Laboratory High School in Urbana.

What are you looking forward to as a new member of the District 88 family?
I am most looking forward to being part of the District 88 and Addison Trail community and working with a great physical education department.

What made you choose this profession and district?
In sixth grade, I knew I wanted to be a physical education teacher, and that was further confirmed in high school. Between sixth and 12th grade, two physical education teachers inspired and cared about me so much that I want to impact students just like they impacted me. In terms of choosing the district, Addison was my “backyard” growing up, having gone to East Leyden High School, growing up nearby in Franklin Park and attending church in Addison.

What do you hope to accomplish during your first year with District 88?
I hope to build a great community with staff, teachers and students and inspire the students by being a dependable role model.

Meet Jeff Angle

Title:
Industrial technology teacher at Addison Trail

Education background:
I graduated from Oakton Community College in 2007 with a degree in construction management. In 2012, I graduated from Chicago State University, where I obtained my Bachelor of Science degree in education.

Career background:
After high school, I started working in the construction industry. I spent two years remodeling homes, basements, bathrooms, kitchens and more. After I graduated from Chicago State University, I worked at Huntley High School. That is where I spent the last two years, teaching woods and construction. Late last spring, I accepted the job at Addison Trail, where I am teaching principles of technology, photography, computer-aided design, woods and home maintenance and repair.

What are you looking forward to as a new member of the District 88 family?
I am looking forward to helping rebuild the Industrial Technology program and working with a great student body and a great staff. Oh, and the new commute from Villa Park won’t be so bad either.

What made you choose this profession and district?
I really enjoyed remodeling homes and all the different aspects of construction. But at the time, work was hard to come by, and I didn’t like the way my body felt at the end of the day. When I started looking around at new career options, teaching seemed to fit me perfectly. I would be able to work with students and pass on the skills I had learned, while continuing to do much of the same work I enjoyed. I chose this district for a couple of reasons. First, because of the reputation it holds. And second, because of the location. I like the idea of being in the same district my kids will go to someday and not having to spend half my day commuting back and forth to work.

What do you hope to accomplish during your first year with District 88?
I hope to equip my students with skills that can last them a lifetime and show them real-life applications for things they are learning in other classes. I also hope to get my students interested in the subjects and have them continue on to next-level courses and other courses in my area.

Meet Kira Bonk

Title:
Physics teacher at Addison Trail

Education background:
I received my bachelor’s degree in physics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I’m looking forward to earning my master’s degree and Ph.D.

Career background:
I student taught at Willowbrook, and now I’m starting my first year of teaching at Addison Trail.

What are you looking forward to as a new member of the District 88 family?
I am so excited to get to know my students!

What made you choose this profession and district?
Teaching is a profession that allows me to help young adults grow, while I also progress as an individual. I love helping people, and this district supports me as a professional.

What do you hope to accomplish during your first year with District 88?
I hope my students discover that physics can be fun and relates to the real world. It’s not all calculations and word problems!

Meet Dana Marine

Title:
Guidance counselor at Addison Trail

Education background:
I graduated from Lyons Township High School District 204, and I received my bachelor’s degree in Spanish and secondary education in 2005 from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I had the opportunity to live in Spain for a year and to study at University of Barcelona. I also have two master’s degrees, one in school counseling from Lewis University and the other in educational leadership from Benedictine University.

Career background:
I started my career teaching Spanish at J. Sterling Morton High School West in Berwyn. For the past six years, I was a counselor at Marie Sklodowska Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago.

What are you looking forward to as a new member of the District 88 family?
I am very excited to develop positive relationships with my students, their parents and with my colleagues. I can already tell Addison Trail has lots of school spirit, and I am excited to proudly sport my navy blue and white.

What made you choose this profession and district?
I always enjoyed helping others and had a passion for the Spanish language and culture. I decided to combine the two and become an educator. While teaching Spanish, I found myself spending my prep periods and time after school supporting students with counseling-related activities, so I decided to become a counselor in a school where I could still use my Spanish. After hearing nothing but positive remarks about the District 88 school-community and meeting some really top-notch, dedicated educators in the district, I knew Addison Trail was a perfect fit for me.

What do you hope to accomplish during your first year with District 88?
I hope to truly get to know my students as individuals and to understand their diverse interests and needs. This will enable me to support them, so they can achieve their academic and personal goals and have a positive high school experience.

Meet Tricia Mueller

Title:
Math teacher at Addison Trail

Education background:
I completed my degree for math, Spanish and education at North Central College in Naperville, and I graduated from Lyons Township High School.

Career background:
Before coming to Addison Trail, I worked at J. Sterling Morton High School. I worked specifically with their freshmen and taught Integrated Math 1, which is similar to algebra and geometry combined.

What are you looking forward to as a new member of the District 88 family?
I am really excited to teach statistics. I have had a lot of experience with algebra and geometry, and it’s really exciting to be able to teach a new topic!

What made you choose this profession and district?
In high school, math actually was not my favorite topic. In fact, it was my least favorite topic! I really struggled, and then in college I joined a tutoring program where we would help students after school with their homework. Soon students were coming to me with math problems and struggled in exactly the same way I used to. I ended up finding I love teaching students a new way to look at math, so they didn’t have to feel the horrible confused feeling I used to feel in class. I realized I really enjoyed breaking the math down in different ways that grasped the attention of high school students.

What do you hope to accomplish during your first year with District 88?
I really hope to be able to become a part of the Addison Trail and District 88 community and to be able to help all of my students accomplish whatever dreams they have. I want to help students eliminate that feeling of confusion or fear of math and show them how helpful it can actually be. In all, I am excited to be a part of this school and to help students with anything they are trying to achieve.

Meet Julie Rogers

Title:
Intern school psychologist at Addison Trail

Education background:
I received my bachelor’s degree from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where I majored in psychology and minored in sociology. I earned my master’s degree in educational psychology from Loyola University Chicago, and I will graduate from there with an Education Specialist degree in school psychology this spring.

Career background:
Last year I completed my practicum at Oak Park and River Forest High School.

What made you choose this profession and district?
I grew up loving to work with people and found a passion in psychology – becoming a school psychologist is a great meeting of the two. I wanted to intern in this district because of the great reputation it has and all of the experiences I will be exposed to during this year.

What do you hope to accomplish during your year with District 88?
I hope to gain a complete understanding of how Response to Intervention is implemented in a high school, as well as further advance my skills in counseling and collaboration.

Meet Jessica Null

Title:
Social work intern at Addison Trail

Education background:
I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in photography from Columbia College Chicago. After working for a few years, I went on to earn a Master of Social Work degree from Loyola University Chicago. I decided to return to Loyola University Chicago this fall to earn a Professional Educator License to practice school social work.

Career background:
A few years after completing my bachelor’s degree, I decided to change career paths toward one of the helping professions, which brought me to pursue a Master of Social Work degree. I did an internship at Children’s Reception Center, a temporary shelter for DCFS wards. It was there that I discovered my love of working with youth, specifically adolescents. The next school year, I was a psychotherapy intern at The Community House Counseling Center in Hinsdale, where I worked mostly with adolescent and child clients. After earning my master’s degree, I spent a year working as a residential therapist in a group home for adolescent males who were DCFS wards. I spent the last 18 months providing outreach mental health services in Chicago for adults with severe mental illnesses, most of whom had histories of repeated incarcerations and involvement with the legal system. This past September, I passed my clinical licensing board exams and will be a licensed clinical social worker.

What are you looking forward to as a new member of the District 88 family?
I am excited to be learning the field of school social work at one of the best high schools in the country!

What made you choose this profession and district?
I chose school social work because I wanted to move back toward working with adolescents, and I like that social work in schools uses a very broad set of clinical skills.

What do you hope to accomplish during your first year with District 88?
I hope to learn and gain experience as a school social worker, so I can bring those skills with me as I continue on in the field. I also hope to continue to grow as a professional.

Meet Nadia Gomez-Moran

Title:
Social work intern at Addison Trail

Education background:
I received my bachelor’s degree in psychology from Loyola University Chicago, and I am attending Dominican University to earn my master’s degree in social work and my school social work certification.

Career background:
While I was in college, I worked as a medical advocate at Mujeres Latinas en Acción in Chicago and provided sexual assault advocate services to three Chicago-area hospitals. After graduating from college, I worked as a child welfare specialist for a DCFS Intact Family program in Cook County. My first internship placement for my master’s program was at Presence Behavioral Health in Melrose Park, providing intensive therapy and case-management services to at-risk youths. I am now completing my second internship at Addison Trail.

What are you looking forward to as a new member of the District 88 family?
I am looking forward to working with a diverse group of students, as well as collaborating with and learning from colleagues and other staff members.

What made you choose this profession and district?
I chose this profession so I could help and support children, youths and families. I have always enjoyed working with youths and understand the importance of social workers in schools. I have always believed an individual’s resiliency is increased when he or she has a support system, and I believe District 88 provides a supportive environment in which students thrive.

What do you hope to accomplish during your first year with District 88?
In my year at District 88, I hope to develop my skills and provide the support students need.

Meet Heather “Michelle” Caron

Title:
Vocational assistant at Addison Trail

Education background:
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Calvin College and an associate degree in speech and language from College of DuPage (COD).

Career background:
Before staying home to raise my four children, I worked in the financial sector as a teller, training specialist and corporate trainer. After having my fourth child, I returned to school and received my associate degree in speech and language. For two years, I worked at an agency that provides home-based early intervention services. For the past two years, I worked for The LaGrange Area Department of Special Education as a paraprofessional in a junior high school communication disorder classroom.

What are you looking forward to as a new member of the District 88 family?
I am really looking forward to providing vocational opportunities and support to the students of Addison Trail, so as they look forward to life after high school, they have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to successfully seek out and obtain employment opportunities in the community.

What made you choose this profession and district?
Ten years ago, my sister-in-law, who is a job coach at Riverside Brookfield High School, explained to me what her responsibilities are. I decided that was what I wanted to ultimately do after I finished at COD. I have lived in Villa Park for more than 20 years, and after seeing firsthand how supportive the District 88 staff was to my own children, I knew this was the district I wanted to work for.

What do you hope to accomplish during your first year with District 88?
I hope to accomplish many things in my first year here. I hope to find as many competitive employment opportunities for students as I can; assist students who need more vocational training, so they can build the necessary skills for competitive employment; and assist the staff at Addison Trail by providing information and resources for their students.

Meet Claire Shoup

Title:
Writing Center aide

Education background:
I earned my bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University in English literature, with a concentration in secondary education.

Career background:
After college, I taught afterschool drawing classes with Young Rembrandts at multiple elementary schools and park district facilities, and I spent time tutoring students in English, reading, writing and ACT prep at Huntington Learning Center. Last year, I was given the opportunity to be an instructional assistant in a fourth-grade/fifth-grade split classroom at Henry Puffer Elementary School in Downers Grove. I now run the Writing Center at Addison Trail.

What are you looking forward to as a new member of the District 88 family?
I am looking forward to working one-on-one with the students in this diverse learning community and helping as many students as possible learn to be more skillful and effective writers. I also am looking forward to learning from and collaborating with District 88 and Addison Trail’s passionate and dedicated staff members, who have already made this experience overwhelmingly positive and enriching. Go, Blazers!

What made you choose this profession and district?
I chose this profession so I could make a positive impact on the lives of students. I have always loved working with kids and helping foster their growth as writers, students and individuals. I understand the struggles that so often coincide with trying to turn thoughts into well-written sentences and paragraphs, and I love helping students learn to hone their writing skills. I chose this position specifically because it allows me to help a large number of students individually, and it allows me to work closely with a strong community of teachers. I have heard only great things about District 88, so I was proud to be accepted as a member of this community.

What do you hope to accomplish during your first year with District 88?
I hope to continue to develop the Writing Center at Addison Trail as a positive resource for students and staff and to help as many students as possible become stronger and more independent writers. I also hope to continue to strengthen and improve my teaching methods, as I work in conjunction with the English Department and other departments at Addison Trail and move toward teaching fulltime.