That's where subfreshman history teacher Jenny Kim will be heading after four years at Uni High

By Alex Zhai
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Thursday, May 11, 2006, The OG, news

A new face will appear in subfreshman history next year, and it's not a student. After current history teacher Jenny Kim announced her decision to leave her position at the end of this school year, the social studies department has been looking for someone to fill the spot.

Kim made the decision this April when her husband was accepted into Harvard Business School.

“Unfortunately, should I have chosen to stay,” she says, “the commute would be 15 hours, so I had no choice but to leave my post.”

While she was around, Kim enjoyed the Uni environment.

“I find the intellectual curiosity, the cause-driven passion and push for community and positive societal change to be most exciting,” she says of Uni.

“As a teacher I also witnessed the heart behind the school in the teachers as well. My respect for the teaching staff here exponentially grew year by year. The anti-pretentious climate that Uni strives toward will be missed.”

The social studies department has advertised the job opening on the Uni Web site and in various newspapers. According to the job description document, the department is looking for candidates who have experience and ability in teaching diverse and talented students, are able to use technology to enhance teaching, and preferably have a graduate degree in a history-related field.

Social studies executive teacher Billy Vaughn leads the search committee that will make the final decision. Other members are history teachers Chris Butler and Bill Sutton, art teacher Lisa Evans, librarian Frances Harris, University of Illinois professor (and Uni parent) Debbie Reese, and junior Emma Anselin.

Although the deadline for applications is May 15, the committee has already conducted an interview with Katherine Chuu, who turned in her application early. She visited with students and faculty during lunch on Tuesday.

Chuu graduated from the University of Illinois in 2003 as a double major in political science and English literature, and she will receive her master's degree in education at Northwestern University this year. She did her student teaching at Evanston Township High School from August to March.

The search committee is also reviewing other applicants for potential interviews and school visits.

Kim began teaching at Uni in August 2002, succeeding longtime subbie history teacher Barbara Wysocki. A native of Northbrook, Ill., Kim arrived at the school with a bachelor's degree in social studies education from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her teaching experience included two years at Mahomet-Seymour Junior High School and summers in Boston and Washington, D.C.

She quickly became a favorite of her first batch of subbie students (many of whom still think of her as “Jenny Yi,” her name before her marriage).

“I think everyone who has Ms. Yi really comes away loving her,” says Anselin, who was a member of that first class. “I've never heard anyone complain about her style of teaching. So I think it's really true that a lot of people are going to miss her when she's gone.”

Kim's background included such offbeat tidbits as a role as an extra in the Julia Roberts movie “My Best Friend's Wedding.” On her first day at Uni, the Gargoyle asked her to recall the worst job she ever had. Her reply: “Greeting the mayor of Boston as a Berenstein Bear.”