Many of us have probably lived away from our families for long periods of time, whether a few days, a few weeks or, for some of our boarders, almost a full year. However, unlike English teacher Stacy Van Beek, we probably weren’t halfway across the world for 14 years.

Van Beek is new to Masters this year after living in Singapore for over a decade. She taught literature and language at the Singapore-American School, before returning to America and joining the English Department here. One of the things she has noticed is the difference in teaching styles between Masters and the schools where she taught abroad.

“Compared to Masters, all of the classes that I taught were very standardized and rubric-based. It was a nice change for me to come to a school that has such an individualized style of learning,” she said.

Although Van Beek is a passionate and knowledgeable teacher who wants her students to feel the same way, her career path was not always pointing towards teaching high school students.

Van Beek explained, “I had a BFA [Bachelor of Fine Arts] in acting after undergraduate school. Acting was the way to show part of my expressive nature, but I was also doing other things on the side, like writing, which satisfied the introverted part of me. That being said, being an English teacher interested me because it created a balance of being an introvert and extrovert, openly discussing literature with a class, while continuing to individually write as part of my job.”

This brings us to about a year ago, when Van Beek returned to the United States and began to apply for various teaching jobs. Her list narrowed down to Masters and Hackley, another local private school. For her, the vibrant culture of our school was a major advantage.

“Don’t get me wrong, the kids at Hackley are great. But compared to here, they don’t have as intimate of a community.”