Mr. Lovett retires; Mr. Vitali and Ms. Baye move on
Three teachers will be leaving Judge this year. Mr. Lovett is retiring after 36 years in Catholic education while Mr. Vitali and Ms. Baye are moving on to new opportunities.
Mr. Lovett is retiring to travel, read, and learn more languages. Mr. Vitali is moving to Massachusetts because “if you marry somebody, you should support their growth.” Ms. Baye will be going back to the age group she loves the most – teaching middle school math.
Mr. Michael Lovett in 1985 and 2022. Photos courtesy Judge Basilean.
Mr. Michael Lovett
Interview by Ethan Carboni and CJ Stokes
Michael Lovett is retiring from Judge after 36 years in Catholic education.
Mr. Lovett has taught a wide range of subjects both at Judge and St. Joseph High School in Ogden. He first started teaching at Judge in 1984, and in his career he’s taught English, U.S. History, French, and theology. He’s also taught mini-courses on philosophy, Russian, helped with mock trial and Black Student Union, and was the debate coach for a few years.
“I don't think there's another school like Judge in all of Utah, so to have been a part of it is for me really great, great feeling.”
A native of Hayward, California, Mr. Lovett moved to Salt Lake for college. “When I moved here from California, I got to know some of the families, and it was like Judge was the center of things.”
He began his career teaching English at Judge. “That was a great group of people. I loved being around them and listening to how they talked about literature. That's a really great memory.”
In 1987 he left Judge to continue his graduate work and then returned to teaching at St. Joseph in Ogden for 11 years. He then returned to Judge in the fall of 2001.
Through his years at Judge he’s noticed how generations of families have connected to Judge. “You just don't see that in every place, this kind of strong community of people helping each other. It's a really strong kind of connection between people here, and it's really significant.”
In addition to teaching English here, he taught French for seven years. For his last couple of years at Judge, he taught theology. “I think the things that allowed me to even imagine I could teach this subject was just my interest in philosophy, being Catholic, and having read lots of theology.”
When asked what he most remembers from his years at Judge, he thinks of his colleagues and his many students. “I've met scads of people who have come and gone and who are really great, great people.”
After retiring he has lots of plans.
“You only have so much time in life and I would like to take advantage of the time I have left on earth. I'm just really determined to get much better at Spanish.”
And it’s probably no surprise that this former French teacher will also be working on developing skills in that language. “I really like French. I have a lot of people online that I talked to in French, and I would like to do that a lot more. I think I would like to work in translation a little bit.”
He also plans to travel and read more.
“I like to keep busy. I'm in two different book clubs, one of them is with Judge teachers. Having those deadlines keeps me on my toes. I'm looking forward to having more time to read.”
The many different subjects he’s taught is amazing, and even though he’s retiring from teaching it looks like he’s going to keep learning for a long time to come.
Mr. Anthony Vitali
Interview by Matthew Giovanniello, Anezka Gomez, and Maddie Keith
Ms. Kaycee Baye
“Kaycee chose to move to Judge during one of the roughest times as a teacher - hybrid schedule and new classes,” math department chair Mrs. Lisa Jackson said. “She is an enthusiastic teacher and brought many great ideas to the math department. She always has a smile for everyone. She worked with her students and others in the Homework Lab, making sure that students understood the concepts they were struggling with.”
In addition to teaching math Ms. Baye was the moderator for the Animal Service Club.
“Ms. Baye quickly became a member of the Judge community,” Ms. Jackson said. “She will be missed.”
