Say Hello to Your New Adjunct Faculty!

Ms. Emily Brenner
Fall, Spring

Ms. Emily Brenner has returned to Choate an adjunct faculty member this fall term. In 2001, she came to Choate as a teacher and later served as an admissions interviewer until 2013, when she left to become a full-time parent. Previously, she taught World History, U.S. History, AP U.S. History, and American Studies. She lived in Pratt dorm, an extinct senior dorm, and then moved to West Wing until 2006, when she moved off campus. Outside of the classroom and the dorm, she coached junior varsity field hockey, squash, and lacrosse.

Before teaching at Choate, Ms. Brenner taught as a teaching fellow at Deerfield Academy for a year before returning to her alma mater, the Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford, to teach history from 1998 to 2000. Originally from Glastonbury, Connecticut, Ms. Brenner graduated from Wellesley College, where she majored in American Studies and Art History. She went on to earn her MA in American History at Yale

This year, Ms. Brenner will be covering two sections of AP U.S. History for Ms. Amy Salot while she is on sabbatical and one section for Ms. Leigh Dingwall while she is on medical leave. Although Ms. Brenner will not be on campus winter term, she will return in the spring to cover two AP U.S. History sections for Ms. Dingwall while she is on sabbatical.

In her free time, Ms. Brenner loves to walk her dog, garden, hike, and sail. While she misses being a full time faculty member, she loves being back at Choate and being able to pursue her passions for teaching and history.

-Arjun Katechia ’19

Ms. Clara Duan
Fall

Originally hailing from China, new Chinese teacher Ms. Clara Duan first heard of Choate through an ac-cepted student. Ms. Duan said, “He told me he got an offer from a number one high school in America, so I got excited, too.” Afterwards, Ms. Duan met Chinese teacher Ms. Carol Chen-Lin and moved forward with the application process to become a teacher.

While in China, Ms. Duan earned a B.A. from Hefei Normal University in Hefei, Anhui and an M.A. from Minzu Uniersity in Beijing. Her first experience as a teacher was in Thailand for eight months as a teach-er’s assistant. Before Choate, Ms. Duan taught Chinese 1 through 3 at Brandeis University in Boston, Mas-sachusetts, while also earning a degree in Chinese Literature. Ms. Duan said, “At Brandeis, I could learn the same topics, but from different perspective.”

However, Ms. Duan was not always confident that teaching was the right path. Initially interested in researching Chinese language, culture, and literature, she quickly realized her passion was in teaching others. “I enjoy the pleasure of teaching more than researching. The more that I communicate with for-eigners, the more I can know the language of Chinese better, and that is lifelong learning for me,” reflected Ms. Duan.

Ms. Duan explained, “I am a new teacher, and I use a relatively new teaching perspective, so students need some time to get used to it. I hope I can grow with them, so we can find a perfect pace in the Chi-nese class.” Ms. Duan lives in New Haven, Conn. with her cat, Xiao Bai.

-Kate Spencer ’20

Ms. Lena Nicolai
Fall, Winter, Spring

Although Ms. Lena Nicolai is teaching science classes at Choate for the first time, she is not a stranger to campus. She began working the Kohler Environmental Center (KEC) as a greenhouse manager four years ago and came to Choate in August of 1999 with her husband, Director of KEC Mr. Joseph Scanio, and her son, Zev Nicolai-Scanio ’18.

One of the many things Ms. Nicolai loves is biology. She is extensively trained as an ecologist, but has devoted her life to many different pursuits. Until his ninth grade year, she homeschooled her son. She has also spent time living in her home state of New Jersey, Michigan, and Arizona. She has also travelled to Colombia and Mexico.

Although she is well-travelled, living at the KEC never fails to amaze her. “The KEC is the perfect place because I can roam, and I can have a home. And that’s really nice,” she said, gesturing to the expansive woods outside her window. “You get a sense of being part of something much larger than yourself,” she continued.

Ms. Nicolai loves to camp, backpack, hike, and work outside for the KEC. When she is not teaching, she records nature for KEC studies, detailing the patterns for everything from trees to water to frogs. She said she appreciates the thrill of discovery associated with biology. “It’s definitely fulfilling to be amazed. I like to be amazed by the things that I see.”

-Chandler Littleford ’20

Dr. Nickie Paul
Fall, Winter, Spring

After traveling the world, spending a semester at sea, and completing a doctorate, Dr. Nicholas Paul came to Choate. This term, she is teaching two introductory psychology classes as well as AP Psychology. After completing her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Miami at Oxford, Ohio, she later earned a PhD. in neuroscience at the University of Connecticut. She brings many years of researching and teaching at university to her classes. She said, “I’ve done neurosurgery to rats and intensely studied sections of the brain.” She also worked on alternative treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. In her doctorate program she looked at a part of the brain called the hippocampus.

Hailing from West Hartford, Conn., she is familiar with the Wallingford area. Though she taught several years at a university during her doctorate program, but Choate is the first high school at which she has taught. She decided to come to a boarding school for several reasons. She said, “My focus shifted to teaching, and I really love mentoring students, working on projects, and being in the lab with students.” Another factor was the class sizes at boarding schools compared to those at universities. “I was teaching classes of 70 or so students, but I really loved the small class which were rare,” she said. “I get really excited by teaching it all. It allows me to look back all those years ago and see why I was so fascinated with psychology,” she said.

-Aidan Marzeotti ’20

Mr. Jose Rodriquez
Fall, Winter

From architect to intermediate Spanish teacher, Mr. Jose Rodriguez grew up near the Andes Mountains in Santiago, Chile.

Although he doesn’t coach any sports, the former mountain guide said that climbing summits, whether physical mountains or intellectual challenges, is a core piece of his life. He compared his time as a guide for international hikers on the Andes Mountains to being a Spanish educator today. He said, “It’s a kind of teaching. It’s the same idea that you need to effectively communicate information in order to pursue an activity, and you can teach things and they are ready to absorb.” He added, “Information is a process of receiving information and doing.” He employs this philosophy while teaching his Spanish 250 classes.

He grew up and lived in Chile for approximately thirty-three years, during which he received an undergraduate degree in architecture at Pontificia Universidad Catolica in Santiago, Chile. He later moved to the states to attend Iowa State University to earn his Master’s degree in architecture. While at Iowa State, he discovered an opportunity to teach Spanish. “It turned into a new passion, and I’ve been teaching for six or seven years now.”

Before applying to teach at Choate, he lived in Wallingford for three years. “I knew Choate was around where I lived. I saw Choate from the outside, and it was attractive to me professionally. He has said his favorite part about Choate is “the permanent environment for learning. Smart people, students, staff, and faculty surround you with interesting stories behind everyone, and you are constantly learning and absorbing all this information. You can also find support for your own interests.”

-Lauren Dorsey ’18