97.9 The Hill's Staff Picks: Teachers Rock!

Welcome to the fifteenth edition of 97.9 The Hill’s Staff Picks!

For this round of Staff Picks, we asked our staff to put the spotlight on the teachers who have made the biggest impacts in our lives. Teachers deserve special recognition for everything they do to help both students and parents, especially in this past school year.

You can dedicate a radio message and song to the special teacher in your life at chapelboro.com/teachersrock! Dedications and songs will air starting May 24th through May 28th, and every teacher who gets a dedication will receive a prize pack including amazing handmade toffee from Chapel Hill Toffee and delicious fresh coffee from Carrboro Coffee Roasters!

Aaron Keck, “This Morning with Aaron Keck”

I’ve been blessed with many great teachers, but I have to shout out Jane Falion, my drama and debate coach at Everett High School in Lansing, Michigan. I was a nerdy, introverted kid when I signed up for debate class my freshman year; Ms. Falion helped me come out of my shell and get comfortable with public speaking. From there, she encouraged me to join Everett’s forensics team, which became my favorite extracurricular activity all through high school. By my junior year, I was starring in the school musical – Seymour in “Little Shop,” naturally – and performing in Everett’s competitive theater program, which Ms. Falion had started from nothing and built into one of the top programs in the state in the space of a few short years. She was a great teacher and is a wonderful person; she’s still my friend to this day, and I wouldn’t be where I am without her.

And here’s some irony for you: in forensics, there’s a category called “Broadcasting,” where you take on the role of a news anchor. All through high school, Ms. Falion insisted I’d be great at it, but I always resisted and never did it. Guess she saw the news anchor in me before I did!

Photos: the older photo is of the drama program at our end-of-year celebration at Lansing’s Boarshead Theater. This is my senior year, 1997; that’s me third from the left in the first row, and Ms. Falion just behind me. (To give you a sense of how close we still are: the girl to the left of me is Michele, whom I just had dinner with in Florida last month, and the guy left of her is Scott, whom I’ll be visiting in Colorado later this month.) The other photo is a more recent picture of some of the high-school group having lunch in Lansing when I was visiting a few years ago; that’s me on the top left and Ms. Falion in front of me.

Jada Jarillo, Marketing and Operations Manager

I had a lot of great teachers throughout my years as a student, but one that stands out for me and many of my fellow classmates is my history teacher from high school, Dr. Robert McAdams – aka. Dr. Mac. It’s hard to put into exact words the magic of Dr. Mac, but it was a combination of his personality and teaching style that made him so well-loved by so many that came before and after my class.

He enjoyed a simple life (and presumably still does) in a home with no computer or television, and only received his information from newspapers and the radio. He had a donkey named Jack which he would use to plow his small farm each year. His stove in his kitchen was powered by making a small fire inside like a woodstove.

His style of teaching was based more on a college classroom than high school – he would stand at the front of the room and lecture daily and had us complete our assignments out of college coursebooks. But, he had a great sense of humor which he employed often while describing historical events and he was quick to quip great one-liners like “You’ll sleep when you’re dead!” when dealing with distractions.

He was intelligent, he was informed, he was unique, and I think we loved him because he challenged us to be the same way. He taught us how to get our news and helped us understand world events through classroom discussion. He prepared me for college more than any other teacher and, over the course of three years, gave us a very well-informed and thorough version of history.

And, most of all – he seemed to really care about all his students as much as we did him. After high school he came to our weddings, and my friends and I missed him so much that we would organize trips to see him. Even now I keep in touch with him on social media and see that his is as loved and admired now as he was then. He is definitely a teacher that rocks!

Here is a picture from 2009 of Dr. Mac with me and several friends who were also lucky enough to have him as a teacher.

Brighton McConnell, News Director and Host of “News on The Hill”

I’ve had so many teachers in my life that I’m grateful for — most often because of their teaching styles and willingness to push me to become a better student and person. One I want to highlight, though, is Brevard High School’s Meredith Licht.

Mrs. Licht is a role model because she’s not only someone who leads by example in and outside of the classroom, but works to really engage kids with materials. As my (first) journalism teacher and an English teacher, I’ll always remember her passion to get high schoolers excited to learn, which is…not always easy to do! She also personally helped push me to keep finding ways to grow with my writing, studying and presentation of information. Mrs. Licht will always be a rock star to me and I know she is for many others in Transylvania County Schools too!

Ava Pukatch, Reporter

One of my favorite teachers in high school was my AP Bio teacher Paige Derouin. She was an alumni of our school and a UNC grad. AP Bio is very hard but the class was so wonderful because of her. She heled review sessions through Twitter for every test (and even let me lead one too) which was super helpful. She was super involved with the students in the school working on events and listening to us when we had problems. She led one of my retreats senior year and it was just amazing to get to know her more. We even got to learn yoga from her and she held some sessions after school for us to destress from long days. I loved her so much and am happy I still can catch up with her today!

Elle Kehres, Assistant News Director

I would say one of my most memorable teachers was Ms. Damon. She was my college prep instructor for 3 years in high school and my English teacher for one (my junior year). She was rad in that she was 100% herself, completely authentic, and not afraid to be a goof. She showed me that people that march to the beat of their own drum CAN be cool in their own way.

She is also the teacher who really gave me confidence in my writing. She made me want to work hard – and the positive feedback I received in return spurred the initial push toward the career I’m in now.

Nicki Harris, Account Executive

My sixth grade social studies teacher, Colleen Finwall, is an educator I think of quite fondly and quite often. She was a fantastic teacher and a generally great role model. Mrs. Finwall encouraged her students to be well rounded and curious people in the world. Every Tuesday morning, before school started, she held her infamous Current Events Quiz (winners of which received extra credit). It was such a creative and effective way to engage young students in current events and encourage them to be knowledgeable about what’s happening in the world. Her impact was notable and unforgettable.

Jack Carmichael, Programming Assistant

When I was in the Music Department at UNC-Chapel Hill, one of my favorite professors was Dr. Daniel M. Huff, director of the UNC Men’s Glee Club. The Glee Club accepted both music majors with classical voice training and amateur singers who joined just for fun, and somehow, Dan Huff was the perfect teacher for every level of vocal experience. His explanations of how the voice works were captivating. Even more exciting to watch was the progress students made in their time in the Glee Club. On top of his stellar vocal pedagogy, Dan was one of the most good-humored members of faculty I knew. In the very serious world of music academia, it was refreshing to walk into a Glee Club rehearsal knowing that Dan Huff always made sure we were having fun singing.

The most impressive part of the Dan Huff experience was the way he made every member of the Glee Club feel like they belonged. The acceptance and inclusion that people felt in his classroom, regardless of background or skill-level, had a tangible effect on the way we sang together. After more than 30 years at UNC, Dan is retiring after this spring semester. His presence in the Music Department will be sorely missed!