New teachers at Judge

Judge welcomed six new teachers this year. Two in the arts department, and one each in the social studies, counseling, and science departments.

Ms. Dain by Cameron McLaughlin

Having been a former student of Mr. Bettin here at Judge, Ms. Dain has returned to follow up his legacy with her own artistic ability.

“I like the idea of working with people that taught me and I had a really great relationship with the teacher that was here, Mr. Bettin. And I just kind of always knew that I’d come back I wasn’t sure which way or how. But yeah, that’s why I’m here,” Ms. Dain said.

Because she attended Judge Ms. Dain has an excellent sense of how the art program operates here what is to be expected for each class. 

Judge offers a diverse array of art credits many of which Ms. Dain has taken saying in her interview “I took all the art classes. So Art Foundations, Basic Drawing, Advanced Drawing. I did not take Ceramics because I was taking too many art credits, but I did take AP Art so that was super fun.”

Ms. Dain is focused on helping her students do the best they can.

“My favorite part about teaching is interacting with the students. I want my students to know that I was in their position at one point. I also went to this school, so I know what they’re going through. I know how hard it can be. But I’m here to help. And that is my main job.”

Ms. Dain is not just a former student but a more than qualified teacher. When asked about her experience she said “I graduated from Judge in 2013. And then I went to the Cleveland Institute of Art, and I graduated from there in 2017. And then I did my masters at Case Western Reserve, and I graduated may 2019.”

Although she is a young teacher she has some wisdom and ended her interview with some great advice about art. 

“I want people to know about art in general that it’s really important, just because you’re not going to go on and be the next Picasso or famous painter or drawer. It helps you in every aspect of your life, and there’s no other subject taught that invokes your imagination like art does, and it helps you in every subject helps with your creative thinking, your imagination, your problem solving skills, everything.”

Fr. Francis by Sage Walker

When Father Francis was young, he was forced to flee from his hometown of Hue, Vietnam to escape from the devastation of the Vietnam war. During his escape, Father Francis was inspired by a model of Christ. He was motivated to become a priest and pursue further dedication to a life following in the footsteps of Christ. 

“I wanted to become a priest because I’ve always love learning, and the best teacher in the world is Jesus.”

After Vietnam Fr. Francis has lived and studied in the Western United States and in Mexico.

“I studied my theology in two places, I studied at the Dominican School of philosophy and theology in Berkeley, California. I also studied one year of theology in Mexico City with the Dominican province. ” Father Francis said.

Father Francis loves the new scenery of working at a high school. He enjoys running the masses and offering a way for students at Judge Memorial Catholic High School to talk about issues afflicting them.

“I hope that I can be an instrument of the Holy Spirit to cause an impact and share the beauty of the Catholic faith. Some of the students may not have any idea about the Catholic faith, so my hope is to share with them the beauty, the truth, and the joy of being Catholic.”

So far Father has organized a service trip where students biked down to St. Vincent DePaul one Saturday to serve the homeless. He’s also planning a service trip to Vietnam this summer.

“In my free time I love the biking in the winter, I love to do downhill skiing. That’s my favorite sport in winter.”

“Before Father Francis came to Judge, I thought of myself as the techie who ‘Had to’ change the slides for mass, but now I think of myself as the techie who ‘Has the opportunity to’ change the slides for mass,” said Judge Memorial projection techie Micheal Eggert.

Ms. Poppe says that she loves working with Fr. Francis. “It’s like working with Yoda,” she said. “He’s so joyful, and then he says all the wise and wonderful things.”

Mr. Garrison by Amaia Horyna

My name is Mr. Garrison. I am from the San Francisco Bay Area. I served an LDS mission and after I wanted to come here and just kind of a new change of scenery.

I got my associates degree at SLCC, and then I transferred over to BYU. I was originally in pre-dental, and then I figured out really quickly that I did not like all the classes. 

So I did a little soul search and ended up teaching. 

I had a really awesome U.S. History teacher, and he inspired me by showing that history can be fun, entertaining, and you can learn a lot about life. 

I originally started teaching PE, but I always knew that I wanted to go into history, and I’ve never turned back. 

I taught high school in Saratoga Springs, which is just south of here, a school with 3,400 students. So coming here is a huge difference. You can get to know the people better. 

I had met Mr. Lambert, a couple years ago at USU for Student Council, and then Miss Poppe. I had a class with her at the University of Utah. And we just got the talking. I was just in a point where I felt like I wasn’t able to reach my students out of love. It was hard to do with 40-plus students per class. 

I love it here because you get to know the kids. The kids are great at Judge. They’re motivated and with smaller classes, I feel like I can really connect with them. I try to bring history to life. 

I have one Human Geo class and then everything else is World History. 

I’d be outside that’s what I love about Utah. You can go skiing hiking, you can go down to St. George in the canyons. I like to just be active.

I love movies, I love music. I’ve recently started getting into writing music. So it’s been kind of a cool process of learning to do that. And I’m just a nerd. I love Harry Potter and Star Wars, but also love sports. 

I think it’s a pretty good blend of different things. I’m just a very relaxed teacher, but I also have high expectations for you guys. I think I do a really good job with blending education with life. I hope you guys are understanding that. The way that I teach is I want you to come out not just scholars and historians, but understanding life.

The way I teach is, “yes, here’s all the content, but here’s the life lesson attached to it.” And if I can make it fun, I think it sets a better environment for learning. 

And that’s what I want you guys to do. 

Dr. Gibbons by Sam Oswald

There’s a new science teacher in town, and his name is Dr. Gibbons. He is taking over Dr. Niemeyer’s position teaching Elementary Algebra and Earth Systems Honors to Freshman, and Honors Chemistry to the Sophomores.

Hailing from Yakima in Washington State, Dr. Gibbons grew up playing a lot of soccer and, as he put it, “...spent as much time outside as possible.

“I went to Western Washington University up in Bellingham.. It’s a great place. I highly recommend it as an option for those who are seeking to go to college.”

At Western Washington Dr. Gibbons got his Bachelor’s Degree in Science and Chemistry with a minor in Biology. He then went to the University of Utah where he got his Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry.

After he received his Ph.D. he began teaching. “I taught at the University of Utah for a little bit as well as at Westminster College, teaching Organic Chemistry. I was doing that part time and at the same time, I was working in industry up at Park City as a scientist.” 

This year is not just his first year as a high school teacher, but also as a teacher at Judge. 

“I love Judge! The students are great. Faculty are supportive. They’re amazing. Everybody’s very friendly. I’m really enjoying it.” 

Ms. Landau by Owen Perry

Guidance counselor Ms. Nicola Landau is not only new to Judge. She’s new to Utah.

“Before coming to Judge, I was a graduate student at New York University,” she said. “It was a two-year program. So I was getting my master’s degree in school counseling K-12.”

She got her undergraduate degree from Florida State University and her Masters of Counseling from New York University.

“I always knew I wanted to work with adolescents. I had a great advisor and support system in my undergraduate education, and I knew that I wanted to be able to help future students get through school just like I did.”

When asked how her transition is going, she said, “What I like most about Judge is definitely the community. The parents are so involved and spirited as well as the students. 

“I feel like that’s pretty relatable to my own high school experience, and I want to continue to build relationships with my students and help them get through school.”

Dr. Roberts by Yara Ahmed

Dr. Roberts is the new music teacher here at Judge. Dr. Roberts is originally from Vista, California, but he came to Utah in 1988, where he got his doctorate at the University of Utah. He also went to a wide range of colleges.

“I started at the US Navy School of Music in Virginia. And when I was in the Navy band, and then I got out and I went back to San Diego Mesa College, got an associate's degree in liberal arts there. And then I went to United States International University in San Diego, and got a psychology degree. Then from there, I went to the University of Utah and San Diego State, and got a master's degree in music and then a doctorate at university.”

He plays about 22 different instruments, his favorite being the trombone and he is extremely passionate about music and teaching. 

“It's kind of a passion that every time I think about music, I think about how music affects me emotionally and intellectually, and then, once I started actually playing, it was like, wow, look what I can do with this instrument and I can bring a lot of joy to people.” 

We are so happy to invite Dr. Roberts into our amazing Judge community!