Dan Miller and Vicki Hughes-Hung, both graduates from Virginia universities, are new teachers at Deep Run this year who share a deep passion for STEM. While neither are new to teaching, one is invested in connecting with students on an individual level, and the other is passionate about sharing the love for the subject.
Miller is the new CIT teacher who has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at University of Virginia (UVA). He taught previously in South Carolina and recently relocated to Virginia.
Though he entered UVA solely with an interest in pursuing a career in computer science, he left with a new passion for teaching.
“Over the years, I got interested in education because I was volunteering in schools as part of a program to help with computer science,” Miller said.
The program Miller was in aimed to develop high school classes related to computer science, a relatively new high school subject at the time.
“This program I was a part of took local tech employees and put them in high schools to help volunteer and help build the program,” Miller said.
He enjoyed teaching computer science and decided to switch over to pursue a career in high school education.
The new CIT teacher has a passion for hands-on teaching.
“I believe very strongly in learning by doing,” Miller said. “I like as quickly as possible to start building things.”
Miller also enjoys assigning projects. He combines pop culture and education by having his students learn how to recreate a well-loved game.
“Everyone knows the game Wordle, everyone plays Wordle; my class builds Wordle,” Miller said.
In a different but engaging approach, Hughes-Hung has joined the math department as the new Geometry and Algebra II teacher.
“I have always loved working with high schoolers,” she said, “I became a teacher at VCU [Virginia Commonwealth University], getting my masters in education and a minor in mathematics,” Hughes-Hung said.
Hughes-Hung also has a philosophy about math she hopes to apply to her teaching style.
“I have a strong belief that mathematicians are wrong all the time, but they don’t stay wrong,” Hughes-Hung said. She applies this motto to her classroom everyday.
Hughes-Hung cares deeply about making her students confident in their work, so she applies her math philosophy in everyday usage.
“I have a strong belief that mathematicians are wrong all the time, but they don’t stay wrong,” Hughes-Hung said.
She applies this motto to her classroom everyday. Instilling resilience in her students is what makes her enjoy working in this field.
“I had a student who was wrong, and I looked at her, and she said ‘hold on,’ and she got it right,” Hughes-Hung said. “That made me happy because she didn’t give up.”
She not only cares about how the students learn, but also the students themselves. When she feels that a student is having a rough time in class, she understands. Her move is to get to the bottom of it.
“What I do is get to know the students, find out what’s going on with them. Usually they don’t know how to ask questions,” she said. “If they don’t know how to ask questions, they get frustrated, and frustration is never fun.”
With two different teaching styles, Miller and Hughes-Hung are all set to inspire students with their passion for STEM. Miller’s pop-culture related activities and Hughes-Hung philosophical approach to math are a duo that’ll enhance students’ academic paths in STEM.
