Exeter Welcomes New Faculty
Instructor in Mathematics
Javier Alvarez
On the day Math Instructor Javier Alvarez moved into the Academy, he “locked the moving van’s keys in said van a mile away from campus.” Luckily for him, the rest of his transition to Exeter is going much more smoothly.
With over 20 years of experience teaching at day and boarding schools, as well as experience with Exeter’s campus through coaching, Mr. Alvarez thinks he has just the right background to acclimate to Exeter’s culture, as “the learning curve is not as steep.”
Alvarez noted that it was the “quality and caliber of both the faculty and students” that drew him to Exeter during his visit. He also is excited to participate in traditions such as E/A day.
Instructor in Modern Languages
Diego Ardura-Faraj
History Instructor Diego Ardura-Faraj has a famous connection in the soccer world: as a young soccer player in Spain, he competed alongside current Manchester United team member Juan Mata. Thankfully, he will use these skills to assist the girls’ varsity soccer team and “cannot wait to beat Andover in the rivalry!”
When he’s not trying out new tricks on the soccer field, Ardura-Faraj is experimenting with ways to engage students in the classroom. In fact, it was his interest in learning that led him to a career in education. “For me, becoming a teacher was the best way to continue learning, while having people around me that share the same passion,” he said.
Ardura-Faraj is also dedicated to “bring[ing] students to the outside world beyond [the] boarding school bubble.” In the future, he would like to create a stronger bond between his students and outside social service projects involving the Latinx community.
Instructor in Modern Languages
Tracy Crews
When she’s not exploring Academy trails with her dog Willow or putting radio collars on trapped timber wolves in Wisconsin, incoming Modern Languages Instructor Tracy Crews will be sharing her bountiful enthusiasm for languages with her students at Exeter. Crews was inspired to become a teacher by her own ninth grade French instructor and has since followed in her footsteps, spending 14 years at both Milton Academy and Timberlane Regional High School before finally finding a home at PEA.
Crews has spent her first days on campus slowly acquainting herself with Exeter lexicon and recently learned the meaning of a “dickey,” something she hopes she will never have to hand out. She is eager to meet students, and would be glad to share the full story of how she found her way to Exeter with anyone who may be curious. “Stop by sometime and I’ll tell you all about it,” she said. “It’s an exciting tale!”
Instructor in History
Takashi Michael Matsumaru
“The messiness of history” is what new History Instructor Takashi Michael Matsumaru loves most about his subject. In his time at the Academy, Matsumaru hopes to introduce his students to “the warts and wonders of the world.”
Matsumaru attributed his arrival at Exeter to a surprising experience. “After a delightful interview with [Dean of Faculty] Ellen Wolff in Philadelphia, I met Bernard Hopkins, a hall-of-fame boxer and one of my all-time favorites,” Matsumaru said. “It capped off a surreal weekend that paved the way for me being here.”
In addition to mentoring the JV girls’ soccer team as an assistant coach and occasionally indulging in some soft-serve at Elm after dinner, Matsumaru can’t wait to return to the history classroom. He leaves us with a favorite saying by historian Lonnie Bunch: “Let us use history to inspire us to push a country forward to help us believe that all things are possible and to demand a country lives up to its stated ideals.”
Instructor in Modern Languages
Pilar Pérez Serrano
“The classroom is one of the few places where you can at least make an attempt to practice democracy today, as well as learn about its strengths and weaknesses,” new Modern Languages Instructor Pilar Pérez Serrano believes.
In addition to her firm commitment to the Academy’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion mission and desire to create a safe, democratic classroom environment, Pérez Serrano brings to Exeter 20 years of experience teaching Spanish and contemporary Spanish theater at Gordon College. She looks forward to enriching the lives of Exonians through language, culture and literature and share her appreciation for the humanities. “I firmly believe [the humanities] can build bridges for dialogue and true communication between great divides,” she said.
Instructor in Science
Kathryn Powers
When Kathryn “Katie” Powers saw a Honda Ruckus parked outside the Phelps Science Center, she sent a picture to her family and captioned it “life goals,” only to find out moments later that the Ruckus belonged to her teaching mentor and fellow Science Instructor Betsy Stevens. Similarly merry introductions and happy surprises, like her discovery that the Academy Library is the world’s largest for secondary schools, have shaped Powers’ first days on campus and only augmented her excitement about beginning at PEA.
Powers, who previously taught physics and biology at Lawrence Academy, describes her teaching career as a “self-fulfilling prophecy”; her high school superlative at Cushing Academy, her alma mater, was “Most Likely to Teach at Cushing Academy.” In addition to her scientific expertise, Powers brings unique life experiences—she once led a reforestation project in Puerto Rico—and athletic passion to Exeter, having previously coached varsity soccer, lacrosse and JV basketball and completed three marathons.
Powers looks forward to “being in awe of [her] students and colleagues” every day.
Instructor in History
Kirsten Russell
History Instructor Kirsten Russell, or “Doc R,” brings to PEA her own bit of history with Exeter. A New Hampshire native, Russell was born in Exeter Hospital and spent her childhood on a sheep farm. Walking around Main Street has brought her back to fond memories of her childhood and the Exeter landscape.
This fall, Russell returns to Exeter after an extensive international career. She held a job in economic development that led her to live in Pakistan and China, where she became fluent in Mandarin Chinese. As her children grew older, Russell became interested in the process of “high school-aged people learn[ing] and identify[ing] as learners and intellectuals” and went through a mid-career transition, deciding to teach history.
Even though she considers herself “a bit of a nerd,” Russell enjoys several outdoor activities including hiking, swimming, rowing and skiing. “I am learning my way around the boat house and Squamscott River,” she said.
Instructor in Mathematics
Julie Van Wright
Julie Van Wright spent her first moments on campus with a swollen red bulge under her eye, having been woefully afflicted with a clogged tear duct just before her move. Fortunately, this has not dampened her spirits about joining the Exeter community as a new math instructor and diving coach, posts she previously served at the Kent Denver School in Colorado.
Van Wright was first drawn to the Academy because of its challenging, thought-provoking math curriculum and is excited to learn from her students by observing their creative ideas and problem-solving methods.
She is also eager to coach and expand Exeter diving, a sport she remarked is “fun, but often overlooked.” Despite being a self-described “terrible swimmer”—she only recently learned how to swim freestyle—Van Wright brings ample experience to the diving board, having coached and competed with the Williams College team and participated in several independent swimming triathlons.
She looks forward to engaging with her students “in the classroom, on the playing field, in performances and in the dorms.”
Instructor in Modern Languages
Ning Zhou
Since he was little, Ning Zhou dreamed of becoming a teacher. This fall, he will bring that passion to his Chinese classroom, where he can’t wait to immerse students in the Chinese language and culture through Harkness. “It is a rewarding career!” he said.
Zhou brings to PEA extensive experience as the former Chair of the World Language Department at the Cardozo Education Campus in Washington, D.C. He attended George Washington University, also in D.C., and has enjoyed meeting fellow alumni and sharing fond memories of professors in his first weeks at Exeter.
Once a lead singer in his church choir, Zhou is excited to participate in many facets of campus life, from adjusting to his residence in Abbot Hall to supporting campus events. Most of all, he looks forward to meeting his students. “It is my honor to work at Exeter,” he said.