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Mr. Tom Tvdry, Mrs. Sara Bontz, Ms. Esther Hamra and Ms. Halli Tripe pose together to commemorate their time coming to an end at Marian. Ranging from basketball to fine arts, these teachers have left an impressive impact on the community. Photo by Kate Efaw.

Four teachers are leaving the Marian community: Art teacher Ms. Esther Hamra, English teacher and debate head coach Ms. Halli Tripe, math teacher Mrs. Sara Bontz and social studies teacher Mr. Tom Tvrdy. Each is going on a different journey.

Tripe is planning to leave the realm of teaching to pursue other interests. “I hope to work in an office somewhere. Either in the legal field as a paralegal or in the nonprofit world…I just know that I need a change of pace. I’ve decided I need to make sure I do something that helps people,” she said. She wants to continue this mindset from her time as a teacher.

Bontz, on the other hand, is taking a temporary break from teaching. “The reason I am leaving Marian is to be a stay-at-home mom for at least the formative years of my child’s life. For now it’ll be that, and perhaps in the future I’ll go back to education. If there’s a job opening here, I’d love to come back,” she said.

Tvrdy is planning to focus more on athletics for the time being. “I know I’m taking a much bigger role in club coaching…For teaching, I don’t know. I’m leaving that open for the right fit and that includes high school coaching. I’m just taking my time to make sure my next employment God sends me on is a really good fit,” he said.

Hamra is excited for a new teaching opportunity at Marrs Middle School. “My future is bright no matter where I’ll go. I’m really stoked to possibly be starting in a public school, a different realm for me. I did go to public school, so really Marian was like a crazy thing that I never thought I’d be in. It was an amazing place to get my feet wet and get all my experience, and I appreciate that,” she said.

Even with bright futures, they all will miss being a part of the community at Marian. “I’ll miss the people: the students, the other teachers, counselors, paras and administrators. Marian has good people and I will miss everyone,” Bontz said. “I’m not just saying this, but Marian is the best teaching job I’ve ever had. It wasn’t an easy decision [to leave] but I feel like it is right for my family.” 

Tvrdy has built friendships with coworkers that he will miss. “I made a few close friends here and I’m going to miss seeing them on a regular basis and of course the students. I teach freshmen, so anytime I’m in the hallway, I always see former students and I enjoy seeing their energy and greeting them,” he said.

Reflecting on their time at Marian, they all hold fond memories from teaching. Hamra has gone on many trips such as New York City, France, Spain and the Galápagos Islands. “All the trips I’ve been on…I’ve seen the world through Marian. Those are my best memories traveling the world with awesome kids and my amazing coworkers and sharing that experience,” she said. “Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands were my favorites even though I threw up on the boat. I felt like I bonded with the girls on the boat. It was pretty great. I also got altitude sickness for the first time in my life, but it didn’t matter. It was still the best trip ever.”

Tripe spends a lot of her after school hours working with the debate team. Due to all the time spent with them, she had many happy memories from tournaments and practices. “My favorite memories have been seeing debate girls succeed, in and outside of debate,” she said.

As they take on their new careers, they all leave behind advice for students taking their classes. “As much as you can and whenever you’re studying, connect to current events that are going on in the world right now. Because when you do, it brings much more meaning  into the content and you get more engaged and it enhances learning a lot,” Tvrdy said.

“Just put everything you got into it and enjoy yourself. You’ll get out of it what you put into it,” Hamra said. She believes that students will succeed in art doing just that, as well as have fun.

Tripe holds more general advice for all students. “Do your stuff. Read the books, do your homework, check Canvas and open the modules. Don’t just go off of your to-do list,” she said. 

As she plans to return as an assistant debate coach, she also invites students to try out debate. “My advice is to do [debate]. You might like it, you might not. But I always say that if you go to one debate tournament and lose every single round, you are still way ahead of every other student in terms of your public speaking skills and analytical skills,” Tripe said.

Bontz wants students to realize their full potential. “Do your homework on time, don’t wait until the day before the test to ask for help and do not come in believing you are bad at math based on your past experiences. So much of success in math is mindset. So if you can convince yourself that you’re capable! I haven’t met a student who isn’t capable of success. If you approach math with a positive growth mindset and a good work ethic, you will be successful,” she said.

Although they are leaving, they all wish the best for Marian and its students. Bontz adds “I’ll miss it here and hopefully it’s not a goodbye but a see-you-later.”