Interviewing Ms. Sanchez and Mr. Klasen

Annika Binstadt, Staff Writer

   In an effort to introduce new faculty to students and welcome them to MPA, I have been sitting down with new teachers and staff and asking them some questions about themselves, MPA, and their interests. One of these newer faces was that of Samantha Sanchez, who was gracious enough to let me interview her. Get to know her a little bit better! If you want to say hello in-person, her room is in the Upper School Commons, across from the Upper School office in the old fishbowl room. 

Q: What are your name and pronouns, your position at MPA, and what you would like to be called by students? 

A: My name is Samantha Sanchez, any pronouns are fine as long as they are used respectfully, my position at MPA is Assistant Director of Equity and Belonging. I’ve been here since June, but you all were gone by then. I go by Ms. Sanchez, though some students have called me Ms. Samantha, and that’s fine too. 

 Q: Where were you working/living before joining MPA?  

A: I was working at a small community college in New Jersey, it’s called Rearden Valley Community College. I was living in New Jersey, but going back and forth between here and New Jersey. I also have family in California, that’s where I was born and raised. I was kind of living in three places all at once and nowhere at the same time. 

 Q: What made you decide to come to MPA? What made you want to work with kids/in a high school? 

A: I worked with kindergarten in K-12 when I was doing behavior intervention work for some time, and I absolutely loved that age group. Prior to that, I was working in higher-ed, which I did again in New Jersey. I just love the K-12 environment. It’s a different time in people’s lives to capture versus higher ed. It’s just a different situation, in the sense that even though students come to school every day in K-12, you still go home, and you have another place that you call home, but in higher education, that really is their home, which is a totally different dynamic. I do love both, but I really have a heart for K-12. I was looking for a position exactly like this, so when I saw this position, I wanted to apply. Once I was able to meet some of the people here and do the first round of interviews, it surprised me how comfortable I was interviewing with them and talking to them. A lot of times, you don’t get that sense of comfort, especially in the interview stage, so I thought, “Oh, this is different!”. I did another interview and was able to meet more folks, and it was the same thing, the same sense of comfort and familiarity with people I didn’t even know. That for me was the biggest positive. It can be really difficult in my line of work to create a sense of community within equity where there isn’t an established community, so seeing and feeling the community here was really important to me. 

Q: What is your favorite part of MPA so far? 

A: I love every single time I meet students and students come [to my office], I don’t get students in here very often. I think people are still trying to feel me out and get to know who I am and what I do, so I love when students come in, even if it’s just to take snacks, because that’s super awesome. The lunch here surprises me every single day how good it is. I was skeptical, so so skeptical. My lunch in K-12 was awful, but the food here is incredible, I love it.  

 Q: Do you have any kids/pets/partners? If so, would you mind talking a little about them? 

A: I have a bonus daughter, she’s my partners daughter. And she’s awesome, she doesn’t go here, but she just entered ninth grade, she’s at a different private school. I do have a partner, she and I have been together for some time. We also have five dogs, which is a little intense. We had two originally, Honey and Leo, and we had them since they were super teeny. Then, Honey popped up pregnant one day and out came some babies, so those are the other three. We might not have five forever, we likely won’t have five forever, because it’s a lot. It might be better for all of us to not have five. 

 Q: What is your favorite sport (to play or watch)?  

A: I used to play soccer, but I do enjoy watching basketball, I just don’t completely understand everything that goes on. For the most part, I understand what’s happening, but I would have to say soccer, specifically women’s soccer, just because I know what is happening, and my eyes can watch the ball. With football, I lose where the ball is all the time, and I can’t follow it. I really enjoy watching the US women’s soccer team though.  

 Q: What is your favorite thing you did over the summer? 

A: In one of the really big malls in New Jersey, they have this thing called Dreamscape, which is kind of like virtual reality, but they only have a set number of locations, and there’s one in New Jersey. We went, and it was so so so so fun! I would say, if you ever have the opportunity, go. It really was a good time, and it wasn’t super expensive at all. The other thing, I’d never been in a boat, so we took a ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island, which was my first boat experience, and I can say I do enjoy boats now. 

 Q: Is there anything else you want students to know about you? 

A: Come visit me! I have snacks and drinks, just come visit me! Even just to say hey. I know my title is kind of vague and mysterious, especially for younger students, but I really am here for y’all, even if you just want to come in to say hi, or complain about homework, or talk about sports, whatever. I love talking with y’all, and chit-chatting, and feeding you! There is always food in here. Just don’t be a stranger. Even though the door is normally closed, if the light is green, you can always come in! 

 Many thanks to Ms. Sanchez for this interview! 

Now, on to the interview with Mr. Klasen.

 Q: What are your name and pronouns, and what you would like to be called by students? 

A: My name is Scott Klasen, my pronouns are he/him/his, and I prefer to be referred to as Mr. Klasen by my students.  

 Q: Where were you working/living before joining MPA?  

A: I was in Duluth, Minnesota working at a school called Lakeview Christian Academy. I was there for 7 years teaching math, science, economics, and tech classes.  

 Q: What made you decide to come to MPA? What made you want to work with kids/in a high school? 

A: I actually got my master’s in chemistry so that I could teach college-level chemistry. I realized as I was going through that program, I was taking some secondary education classes, and really liked the idea of working in a K-12 setting. After I graduated with my Master’s, I started calling some independent schools in the Duluth area and that’s how I got connected to where I was working. I’ve always had a passion to teach, and I think with working with kids in K-12, I know with my upbringing and being told that I wasn’t going to make it past the sixth grade, it was one of those things that I was able to overcome because I had teachers helping me get past that point. There’s a lot of things in my childhood where certain people were able to see good things in me, where others just saw insurmountable obstacles, and I think that that helped me know I wanted to be a teacher. 

 Q: What is your favorite part of MPA so far? 

A: I think the community here is just amazing. Even when I was here for my interview, just seeing the interconnectedness of everything from the student panel, to meeting the staff. Ever since I’ve been here the staff have been just fantastic to work with, everybody’s here, they understand it’s a team process. We all want to succeed, and we all want to see our students succeed. I think that common mindset is really cool.  

 Q: Do you have any kids/pets/partners? If so, would you mind talking a little about them? 

A: I am married, my wife’s name is Jessica. I have three kids, their names are Elliott (8), Asher (5), and Elisa (1). They keep me young and very tired, and my wife works in in the mental health field, my boys love Pokémon and Bakugans, and Elisa likes reading books a lot, she will bring you her favorite book and ask you to read it twenty times in one sitting, which is great, but getting used to the lack of variety has been a bit of a struggle. They are all amazing.  

 Q: What is your favorite sport (to play or watch)?  

A: Football has been a part of my life for a very long time. Superbowl XXXI was the first football game I ever watched, which is when the Green Bay Packers beat the New England Patriots, so I have been a Packer fan through and through since that day, which may be viewed by some as a huge negative, but I am hoping they will overlook my sport allegiances. Football’s the big one for me. 

 Q: What is your favorite thing you did over the summer? 

A: I like doing stuff outdoors. My boys love to be outside, we like to go kayaking and fishing with their grandpa, and just enjoy the outdoors as much as we can! 

 Many thanks to Mr. Klasen for this interview!