Wildcat Spotlight: Hanna Kornell

Biology teacher Hanna Kornell is leading her first ninth grade biology class here. Kornell earned her masters degree last year at the University of Virginia. She first started working as a student teacher for Henley Middle School and Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Va. until she decided to move to the Richmond area. Moving here and leading her own classes have been a very different experience. 

   “Being at Deep Run has specifically been cool because it is a big school, but it also feels small at times, especially with just knowing the kids I have,” Kornell said. 

   Kornell makes sure her class has a friendly environment, while still keeping it challenging for her students. Building relationships with students is important for Kornell’s teaching style.

   “Having hard assignments and pushing them to do their best, while also allowing grace and knowing that they are human beings as well,” Kornell said. “I also love getting to know all my kids in my classes.” 

   Adjusting to the handling all aspects of being a teacher has been difficult for Kornell. The planning, grading, and balancing can be overwhelming. Having had a job since she was 14 years old, Kornell is used to finding balance in her life, but work-life balance is a little different for many teachers, especially those just starting out. 

   In Kornell’s sophomore year of college, she wanted to go to med school, but switched to a biology major instead. Combining her love of the subject and degrees in both teaching and biology led her to her present career. Kornell also originally planned to teach at the middle school level, but after her student teaching placement in a high school, her plans of teaching middle school went out the window.

   Every class being different keeps Kornell on her toes. Though each day is different, the time taken to plan different lessons can be stressful. 

   “Working on these lessons, you know that a student may not even look at it,” Kornell said.

   With the hefty workload Kornell faces, making a schedule seems to help. Kornell typically takes time for herself on Friday and Saturday, but on Sunday she takes the time to update grades in PowerSchool. 

   Being a part of the Wildcat community has given Kornell an abundance of new experiences. 

   “Another funny thing that will always stick out in my brain is the pep rally when the two guys rapped, I felt like I was at a concert,” she said. 

   Speaking of concerts, Kornell may be known in the hallways for her lectures on cell structure, but outside of these walls, she spends time with music. For a year in college, she was even in a rock band called Cluster Funk. Her love for singing and major in drama is a natural fit for Kornell’s extracurricular participation in theater productions, too.