Heather Rehner, Science

Heather Rehner- she/her/hers 

Q: Is this your first teaching job? If not, what school did you come from, and why did you pick the School? 

A: “I taught AP Biology alongside Dr. Brakeman…I also taught 9th-grade physics, and then I taught at College Prep for a few years. [I came back because], Linda Hoops, who was the middle school head, reached out to me…because I had been subbing in middle and high school when I was working part-time because of my young children at the time.” 

Q: What is the craziest thing that’s happened to you? 

A: “Right after college I worked down in Florida as an engineer, and to keep myself busy I would take lots of dance classes and someone said I should do a triathlon because I was a swimmer. I did it with a bunch of colleagues…I went into it having prepped a lot of running and swimming, but I would use my bike as transportation so I knew how to ride my bike so I didn’t practice…I was the first person out of the water for my age group and then every single person passed me on the bike because I was so tired… because I wasn’t used to it. I was proud of the fact that I didn’t get last.”

A: What do you wish your students knew about you? 

“I really loved getting to sing… when I was a student here and [I] was happy to be involved in the musicals…I love getting to see what the students are doing now in the musicals.”

Michael Vossen – he/him/his

Q: Is this your first teaching job? If not, what school did you come from, and why did you pick the School? 

A: “This is the third school that I’ve worked at. I used to work at Menlo-Atherton High School…After that, I worked at the Bay School in San Francisco.I picked Head-Royce because I was curious about moving to the East Bay…so I started looking at schools in the East Bay and Head-Royce stood out as a school that has an amazing history, has a super strong student body in terms of being academically strong…Also, my main hobby is salsa dancing, and I saw that every year there is a Senior salsa dancing performance, so not only did I think that was super cool but I would love to collaborate with that project.” 

Q: Where did you go to college, and what did you major in? 

A: “I went to UC Davis for undergrad and went to UC Santa Barbara for grad school. I majored in Spanish Literature and Linguistics and Culture, and I minored in Latin American Studies.” 

Q: What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you? 

A: “I was 10, my family told my sister and me that we were moving to Spain. It was crazy to me because I had my life here, but it was like the coolest thing that has happened to me because I learned a new language, and became a part of a new culture. I started to feel like I belonged in Spain too… which impacted who I am as a person but the job I chose.” 

Q: What do you wish your students knew about you? 

A: “I think they should know that I prioritize learning that is fun but also that is rigorous…So we work hard but I find ways to make it enjoyable.”