Retiring Faculty Feature: Mark Hiza (1993)

By CARLY CANSECO, WILLIAM INOUE, and SOPHIE ZHU

Mark Hiza, who has served as an Instructor in Physics and Chemistry at the Academy since 1993, is retiring, leaving a significant legacy of academic excellence that has deeply impacted students and faculty. During his time here, he also coached boys’ JV hockey and track, served as Webster dorm head, and was an advisor to many students.

During his retirement, Hiza expressed excitement about exploring the world more often. “I’m looking forward to spending more time with my wife on our farm in Maine, having more time to hike, bike, and kayak, and having the freedom to visit family, especially our daughters (and granddaughter) in California, whenever the spirit moves us.”

While teaching at Exeter, Hiza has channeled his brilliance into an unrelenting dedication to pedagogy and support to every student. “Mr. Hiza is very bright, and he’s even a member of Phi Beta Kappa,” Instructor in Science Chris Matlack noted. “He can challenge our best students, and the fact that he was teaching chemistry and because he was at the highest level makes his retirement a tremendous loss.”

Upper Ben Soriano shared, “Mr. Hiza has impacted my PEA experience by being a teacher I can rely on to be objective and just in his teaching. His openness to simply greeting me along the paths and asking about my day has helped me feel welcome at the Academy.”

Soriano recalled an interesting story about connecting promptness and train departures in Switzerland. “Mr. Hiza used the point of the trains’ timely and reliable departure as a standard for our punctuality when arriving to class, keeping standards high and the class on track.”

Hiza has memorable moments at Exeter himself. “Early in my time at PEA, during Family Weekend, one of my physics classes was in the lab, learning about friction,” he shared.  “I was mingling with parents and occasionally helping my students, but they were doing fine and didn’t need much guidance from me, and, in fact, most questions were directed to their classmates, especially to one student, Spencer, who was a real leader in the class.  The parents of one student arrived fairly late, and I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself.  With five minutes to go, the class returned to the table, and Spencer, an Upper with a full beard, who looked much older than his 16 years, guided the class through an analysis of the lab work.  The tardy parents rushed to Spencer as the class ended, saying, ‘Mr. Hiza, so sorry we were late!’  Spencer pointed to the back of the room, locating me in the throng of family members, and said, ‘Not me, he’s back there!’  I still think of this as a pinnacle of Harkness teaching.”

Lower Tiffany Sun agreed with Soriano’s remarks about the impact of his teaching, “Mr. Hiza has played an important role throughout my time at PEA. His rigorous teaching style made me a more disciplined student and helped me learn important skills for my next two years at Exeter.”

 Matlack, a long-standing community member himself, has been working alongside Hiza since he arrived in 1993.  Together, they coached the JV boys’ hockey team. “One time, our bus broke down at Kimball Union in a snowstorm, and we had to hang out in the dining hall from four to eight o’clock. Then, a new bus came. But then, because of the snow, we didn’t return here till midnight. Hiza was calm, cool, and very collected with the boys, even though we were stuck at the school for about twelve hours.”

“Hiza was also very instrumental in planning Phelps Science Center,” Matlack commended. “He was very involved in designing the spaces and getting partners. He has also shown so much dedication to the school by coaching two sports, teaching, being well-versed in two departments, and even being a dorm head.”

Soriano’s farewell message encapsulates the gratitude felt by many: “I would like to say thank you for everything you have done for the school, and I hope retirement treats you well!”

“Mr. Hiza is one of the kindest people,” described alumna Hope Gantt ‘23. I think I can speak for a lot when I say I run into him at least once a day (especially at Elm). He is always the first to say hi and ask how I’m doing, even though I had him for a class over a year ago. He’s also a great teacher. I’ve never understood physics better.”

Alumna Caroline Matule ‘19 agreed, saying, “Physics was one of the courses I struggled with most during my time at Exeter. If it wasn’t for Mr. Hiza’s perpetual kindness and patience as I worked through the material, I’m not sure I would have survived the subject, but with his help, I was able to learn so much and even enjoy myself along the way. Thank you for everything, Mr. Hiza, and congratulations on a well-deserved retirement!”

Hiza concluded, “Many students here go far beyond the regular high school curriculum, especially in math and science. I feel lucky to have worked at a school where, 15 years ago, some students asked me to help them learn thermodynamics.  I really enjoyed developing and teaching that course.  In the first few years of offering it, I was learning the subject with my students.  My students would still teach me things about mathematics even when I finally gained a solid grasp of statistical thermodynamics in recent years.  I am very grateful to them – they helped me to continue being a student, which I’ve always enjoyed.”