Fresh Faces

Related Content

Last 5 posts in Features

• Wee Wildcats - December 12th, 2011
• Westminster Students and Staff Reach Out to the Community Through Engage St. Louis - November 29th, 2011
• NHS Induction Ceremony - November 28th, 2011
• GOP Race for the Presidency is Underway - November 28th, 2011
• New Weight Room - November 15th, 2011

Other stories that might interest you...

• Fresh Faces
• Coleman Moves to Full Time Teaching
• Welcoming the Newbie’s
• Back to School
• Teaching Teachers to Teach

Margaret Moore - Staff Writer
January 27, 2010
Filed under Features

With an excited heart, and a constant worry of figuring out the Westminster Smart Boards, Laura Pettay arrived to teach for the second semester of the school year. Pettay came to Westminster to substitute for Bob Vass’s position, as the Literature Western Civilization teacher. Pettay was contacted in early December and was told to prepare for her first class on January 4th of 2010.
Pettay recently completed her masters in English at UNC, and moved back to St. Louis with her husband. She was searching for a teaching job and was surprised to find an opening at Westminster. Pettay had grown up in the St. Louis area and was familiar with the school, so she gave it a shot and applied for the open spot.
“God completely directed my path to become a part of this school. The philosophy and academic levels here are completely aligned with my heart and what I believe,” said Pettay. The reformed Christian community that Westminster possesses draws in people that wish to live and teach by those propositions.
From being a part of the Westminster community for only two weeks, Pettay has found the students, staff, and administration to be kind and considerate.
“Christ is seen and honored in this school,” said Pettay, as she explained her appreciation for the school.
Also joining the Westminster faculty and staff is Jeffrey Shultz, the new Computer Aided Design teacher. C.A.D. is a class where kids are taught how to design objects in 3-D on the computer. “What’s great about my teaching job is teaching students cutting edge technology,” said Shultz.
“I’m not a teacher, and wasn’t looking to be a teacher, but when the announcement was made at church, I was interested and it looked fun,” said Shultz. Shultz’s workdays are very busy, as he works at Westminster till nine and leaves after his class to attend his second job at Siemens PLM Software, as a design engineer. At his work, most of his time is spent on the computer, emailing and working on designs.
“To come to school and talk to kids for an hour was a little nerve wrecking at first, because I’ve never done something like it before,” said Shultz.