FOW: Aviva Halani

In the evening of a school day, minutes before check-in, Math Instructor Aviva Halani sits with her Australian Cobberdog, Grandpa, in the Bancroft common room. A group of Croftettes sit around her, smiling and laughing as she tells a joke and gives feedback on a student’s math homework. 

“I think some of my favorite moments are being in the common room and sitting with students and hearing what's going on with their lives,” Halani said. 

From her time at a Montessori school to college, Halani has always been surrounded by an active support system that encouraged her love for math and teaching. Halani shared how her professors in grad and undergrad school motivated her to become a teacher. “Because of how much I admired my professors in grad and undergrad school, I was like, ‘Oh, you know, [being] a professor could be really cool.’”

Halani unearthed her passion for teaching by taking an interest in how students think about math. She decided to change her research towards math education. “I came straight out of grad school, which I entered straight out of undergrad, which I entered straight out of high school. So really [Exeter] is my first real job,” Halani said. 

At Exeter, Halani was intrigued by the way math instruction operated. “I started learning about Harkness and the way that we teach math. It just seemed like a really good fit—a lot of lovely things about teaching at the college level is what is here at Exeter,” she said. 

Halani continued, “There's a lot of discovery involved [and] it feels so natural here. That’s what I love about math.” 

Though she entered the Academy seeking the expansive and comprehensive nature of Exeter Harkness math, she learned to love living on campus as well. “I was originally ambivalent about the residential aspect, but it's come to be one of my favorite parts of Exeter,” she said. 

Halani is nearing her eighth year at Exeter as a Mathematics Instructor in Mathematics, and previously served as a MUN adviser. She is also an adviser for the Sheth Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC).

During her time here, Halani has always uplifted her students. “Dr. Halani has definitely provided me with a support system during my time at Exeter. Whenever I need help or have questions, she is usually the first person I ask because she knows how to help,” upper and advisee Sydney Kang said. 

Halani’s other advisees agree. “Coming into Exeter, it’s been very different because of the pandemic. So it's been very hard to adjust, at least at the beginning of the year, and especially coming to campus a month later. But Dr. Halani was really connected and she emailed me right at the beginning of school before I even got to campus,” prep and advisee Caroline Shu said. “She's just very welcoming and understands when we all look really tired on screen because the week's been so hard. She wants to help us and makes sure we are at our best.” 

“I really appreciate how accessible she is. She makes time to check-in with her advisees even if it's outside of the regularly scheduled time and I always feel like I can reach out to her when I need support or advice,” upper Ana Casey added. 

Senior Brody Faliero noted how Halani has always created a warm environment for her. “She's made me feel at home from the start. It was so refreshing coming in and immediately having a faculty member that I could be myself around. I never had to try to act like I was more together than I was. She's just always been that person to make life easier for me,” she said. “I remember I had a really tough prep year… and I would vent to her... one of the times, she gave me this long speech about how much she can see me being a role model and how much potential I have. That really helped my confidence!”

In the face of the pandemic, Halani has been a constant light at the end of the dark COVID tunnel to both her students and fellow faculty members.  “It is not an understatement to say that Dr. Halani was my savior when we had to move to online teaching last spring,” Math Instructor Stephanie Girard said. “Technology is not my forte and Dr. Halani gave up so much of her time to help me in the weeks before Spring 2020 began. She met with me one-on-one many times and shared so many resources with me and she has been a constant source of encouragement and advice throughout this year, also.” 

“Dr. Halani has been very helpful to help me improve my Harkness skills in the classroom and has observed my classroom quite a bit. She has given me very, very good tips,” Math Instructor Jose Molina added. 

Upper Naisha Deora noted Dr. Halani’s considerate presence throughout Zoom learning. “Dr. Halani really tried to be in tune with how much we felt like we could do [during our class]. I know a lot of people, myself included, felt really comfortable going to her and saying like, ‘those 15 problems last night, that was way too much’...she was able to adapt even though it was a very inflexible situation,” Deora said. 

“Dr. Halani definitely understood that being at home and transitioning into Exeter and adjusting to Harkness and all was definitely not easy. I think she did a great job at helping us get used to the class environment,” upper Harry Gorman added. “She made sure that the class was not a very stressful thing. She was very willing to understand, specifically with tests. She adapted them because she understood that most of us had not taken a synchronous test in [an entire] year.”

Upper Lucy Weil agreed and highlighted the enthusiastic presence Halani carried when teaching. “I admired and appreciated her efforts in organizing the class to make studying for quizzes easier, and especially during winter term when most of us were at home,” she said. “She has impacted me with her kindness through her teaching method. I would always come into class looking forward to her thoughtful comments and suggestions to allow me to gain a better understanding of the material.”

Halani explained that those moments were her favorite parts of teaching. “It's really powerful to see students problem solving together. I find it really encouraging to watch students develop their problem solving skills and confidence…[They] realize that math is not just about giving the right answer. It's about the ways to get to that answer,”  Halani said. “Honestly, the answer itself doesn't matter as much to me, it's the reason that goes behind it...That's what mathematicians do.”

Her colleagues notice and appreciate Halani’s approach to teaching and mathematics. “Dr. Halani is interested, not only in math, but in its applications to the world we live in. She has a researcher’s mind, always looking for underlying causes for what the data shows, and, more importantly, for ways to correct whatever inequities the data turns up. She engages with her students in a partnership, exploring how to solve problems, mathematical and otherwise,” Math Instructor Dale Braile said. 

Though Halani is a wonderful presence at Exeter, her reputation precedes her because of the fluffy friend that she keeps by her side during her Zoom classes. “I am probably most famous on campus for having a dog, and she takes quite a bit of time. She does dorm duty with me and takes it very seriously. If I leave through the faculty or through the entrance, into the dorm, without her, she starts whining because she thinks I'm going to the common room to have fun without her,” Halani said. “So taking care of her, taking her on walks, that's all really nice.” 

Religion Instructor Kaitlyn Martin Fox especially recalled one memory she shared with Dr. Halani and her dog, Grandpa. “We both got puppies during the pandemic…So pretty much anytime we can get our puppies together to play it’s just a really fun experience and we have a lot of fun dog momming together,” she said. 

“When I think of Dr. Halani, I think of dinners at her apartment in Bancroft where she bakes or cooks something delicious and we sit in her living room just chatting and playing with Grandpa,” Kang said. 

During her eight years teaching at Exeter, Halani has taken on many roles. She is an advisor, a teacher and a proud Bancroft faculty member. But above all, she is an emblem of support. “She's a really down to earth, easy person to be around while at the same time being a super supportive advisor and person,” Faliero said. “She's like a faculty member and a friend, all in one.”