M-A’s teachers come from a wide range of colleges and universities, each bringing unique experiences, favorite memories, and insights from their college years. Here are the college paths of a few of M-A’s teachers.
Nichole Barlow
Spanish teacher Nichole Barlow attended UC Berkeley. Barlow’s favorite memory from college was being in the marching band, which she participated in for all four years. “We went to every home game and some away games,” Barlow said. “We had a show for each game, which was a lot of work, but I made a lot of friends.”
Calvin Ye
Ethnic studies teacher Calvin Ye is another familiar face around campus. He attended UCLA, where he enjoyed watching Bruins basketball games nearly every season. “I basically watched almost all the games from 2006 to 2010. I didn’t try out, but I worked in the basketball stadium, so that’s how I saw all the games,” Ye said. “I worked at Pauline Pavilion, which is the basketball stadium at UCLA, and I usually just roamed around the stadium and got to meet a ton of celebrities, watched their concerts for free, and got paid for it.”
Tom Galvin
Tom Galvin currently teaches Ethnic Studies and attended Santa Clara University for all four undergraduate years. His favorite memory was meeting his wife. “We were both theater majors actually, and she shared an apartment with one of the teachers here at M-A,” Galvin said.
Lauren Lesyna
Biology teacher and girls water polo coach Lauren Lesyna attended several colleges, including the University of Hawaii for one year, before transferring to Foyle Community College. She later earned her Bachelor of Science from UC Davis and her master’s degree in education from Stanford. Her favorite college memory was playing water polo, a passion she has carried with her beyond college. “I played water polo, so hanging out with my teammates and playing games was really fun,” she said.
Ben Hua
Algebra and geometry teacher Ben Hua attended UC Irvine. His favorite memory was being part of the Anteater Adventure Club, inspired by the university’s mascot. “I helped found a club called AAC, it’s called Anteater Adventure Club,” Hua explained.
