Upper School Math Teacher Catherine Sigurdsson
Quote: “I’m having a very dif cult time keeping the even ver- sus odd days straight. I keep wanting to call ABCD even, no I mean odd. No, even. I want to call it even but it is odd.” Location: Freshman hallway or kung fu class
Favorite Math Concept: Volumes of Rotations
Kung fu master, workout guru and mom to two Hockadaisies (seventh grader Stella and freshman Catherine), Sigurdsson does it all. Sigurdsson teaches AP Statistics and Integrated Math III. Prior to coming to Hockaday, she taught math at Ursuline Academy. However, before becoming a teacher, she was a registered nurse in orthopedic surgery. Math teacher by day, Sigurdsson is a kung fu master by night. She has had seven years of training. It is no surprise that she braved the Mo Pole.
Academic Technology Specialist Candice Townsley
Quote: “Mac all the way.”
Location: Room 219 in the LLARC or playing the violin, cello or piano
Favorite SAGE food: Grilled portabello mushroom with zucchini, squash and red bell peppers. Townsley’s office is like no other. On one side, there are huge photographs of a few of the places she has visited—a roadside in Germany, the Parthenon in Greece, and the Grand Canyon. Another wall bears a poem that she heard over 30 years ago in an Apple commercial. At first glance, you may not have guessed that her position entails helping Upper School students and teachers incorporate technology into the curriculum (think less Powerpoint, more Prezi).
Associate Director of College Counseling Micah Lyles
Quote: “It’s been GREAT! Exclamation point. All caps.”
Location: At his standing desk in College Counseling or Montreux, Switzerland
Currently Trying to Perfect: The Donut
When Lyles isn’t dealing with distressed seniors, you may find him saying his favorite words “lechuga” and “seriously,” at the theater, shopping in Paris, winning spelling bees or baking. Before to coming to Hockaday, Lyles was a college counselor at Highland Park High School and had also been a counselor in the Plano Independent School District. In addition to being an avid craft coffee drinker, Lyles has been a vegan for four years. His favorite food is a vegan cannoli. And if he weren’t a college counselor, he would be a pastry chef, interior designer, theatre designer or a set dresser for a theater.
Middle and Upper School English Teacher Bethany Dies
Quote: “I have three dogs, two cats and two chickens right now. It’s a zoo.”
Location: Freshman hallway or in Costa Rica
Superpower: Rescuing animals
When Dies isn’t teaching English to seventh grade and Form I students, she is raising her many pets or reading “Pride and Prejudice.” In the past, she has been a French teacher as well as an English teacher. During her 12 years of teaching, she has taught at a number of DFW schools and at UT Arlington. However, Dies has never taught at an all-girls school.In her free time, she performs animal rescue work, gardens, restores old furniture and travels. The last place she travelled to was Cuba this past summer. However, Tahiti and Costa Rica are her favorite.
Upper School History Teacher Kristen Olson
Quote: “Okay, controversial opinion. I actually do not like animals.”
Location: History hallway or Whole Foods
Favorite Economics Graph: Aggregate supply aggregate demand graph
Avid bagel fan and pimento cheese lover Upper School History teacher Kristen Olson worked as a stockbroker at an investment firm before she decided that she wanted to teach. She is currently finishing her Masters in Education at SMU and is also getting married in December. She teaches AP Economics, World History and US Government. When she goes out to eat, she likes to try different restaurants. The strangest thing she has tried was pig’s ear in Spain. She describes it as being very chewy. After that, her pork consumption decreased.
International Programs Coordinator Gary Stollar
Quote: “What I like the best is being an administrator and teacher. “
Location: Freshman hallway or sleeping in a monastery in central China.
Ideal Class to Teach: History of the Future
Stollar is involved in many parts of the Upper School. He is the liaison and advocate for international students, oversees foreign exchange programs, coordinates international and domestic trips, teaches a middle school history class and partakes in the admissions committee. In the past, he has held a variety of positions at schools in Boston, Memphis, Los Angeles and Tokyo. Stollar was a police officer right out of college. His hobbies include hiking, skiing, reading, traveling and spending time with his wife (whom he met in sixth grade).
