New faculty join the Arthur Blank Upper School with hopes of preparing confident and fearless students. Hayley Conroy, Edna-May Hermosillo, Lena Andrews, Jillian Breen, Hannah Doyle and Bria Samuels are the new faculty members this fall. This year, we are welcoming three teachers and three faculty members. You may recognize Mrs. Hermosillo from the Middle School, but this year she will teach both French and Spanish in the Upper School. Mrs. Hermosillo loves to travel, volunteer, run, hike, spend time with family and teach. “After doing a bit of subbing in all three divisions, I realized how much I missed teaching and being inspired by young people. I guess I missed Pace,” said Mrs. Hermosillo. “My favorite part of Pace is the fantastic people – I love the energy of the students, the teachers, and the staff.” Next summer, she plans to lead an Isdell Global Community Leaders (ICGL) tour and continue her involvement in ICGL. Also returning to Pace, Ms. Conroy teaches English in the upper school and has worked in Knight Gallery at Pace. “Teachers are allowed to have so much freedom with their curriculum which I think is a really good thing because the teachers really care,” said Ms. Conroy. She loves singing, art and writing and sings in a local choir here in Atlanta. “I really like singing Midnight Train to Georgia.” New to Pace, Ms Breen is a Physics teacher in the Upper School. She started teaching 11 years ago and is excited to start at Pace. Reading, knitting and spending time with her family are some of her favorite pastimes. Pace students are, “happy to be here” and “everyone is really excited about what they’re doing here which is great,” she said. New to the college counseling office, Ms. Andrews is excited to begin her journey at Pace and work with Pace students. In the past, she worked at Vanderbilt, as an associate director in undergraduate admissions. During her time at Vanderbilt, she specifically worked with students in the Greater Atlanta area; often working with Pace students. “I am really excited to work more directly with students” and “switch sides of the desk,” she said. “I have gotten to know the college counseling team very well,” “I knew that [Pace] was a school that has really interesting students that are easy to write letters for and fun to work with.” Being relatively new to Atlanta and from Nashville, Ms. Andrews and her husband love to explore restaurants and other cool things Atlanta has to offer. This fall, we are lucky to welcome Ms. Doyle to the Upper School Academic Resource Center (ARC). In the ARC Ms. Doyle will work with and tutor students in both History and English classes. Prior to being at Pace, Ms. Doyle has 15 years of experience working as a “freelance tutor” and “editing and writing copy for university programs, nonprofits and major brands”. “I create an environment that empowers students and helps them find their authentic voices; builds confidence; fosters active and engaged learning; and leads them to inquiry, rhetorical awareness and reflection,” she claims. In her free time, she loves to mountain bike, travel, and learn new languages. Upper School Director of Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Ms. Samuels, strives to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all students at Pace. She is originally from the Atlanta area and graduated from Elon University. Before Pace, Ms. Samuels was a director of science, history, and inclusion, and also has experience working in the DEI department before Pace. In her free time, she is an activist, cheerleading coach and loves to paint.
