Andi Phillips is Uni's new health teacher, replacing DeeDee Wright, who moved to Colorado. Gargoyle photo by Anna Gooler (click to enlarge)

UNI'S NEW HEALTH teacher, Andi Phillips, grew up in St. Peter, Ill., and attended South Central High School in Farina. In the spring of 2007 she graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a secondary teacher certification in health education and a minor in community health.

She replaces DeeDee Wright, who left Uni after the 2006-07 school year when her husband got a new job at Colorado State University. Phillips' captivating manner of speaking and sincere manner of listening make her a natural for the job, according to her students. Armed with the knowledge that Uni students are eager to learn, Phillips is eager to teach.

What name do you prefer to go by?
I prefer to just have the kids call me "Andi." A first name basis is just fine.

How did you come about teaching at Uni?
I actually have another job [see below], and my supervisor knew that I wanted to work as a teacher, so he mentioned that Uni High was hiring. I was aware of laboratory schools, but I wasn’t aware that the U of I had one. So, I contacted Gwyn [Ortiz, Uni’s office manager] and had an interview a week later.

How did you become interested in teaching health?
I started going to a junior college [that] had a health teacher [who] I didn’t think was very effective. It wasn’t necessarily a subject I was always interested in, but I think because I was aware of things that weren’t being covered, I became interested in finding out what I thought was necessary to discuss.

Also, I had surgery and my mother was diagnosed with cancer, and in those instances when I feared the unknown, I turned to facts for a bit of certainty. I realized that I had a gift of obtaining this information and really enjoying it, and that’s when I decided I wanted to study health. I took an education course [at Eastern Illinois University], and I had a specific teacher who really turned me on to the idea of becoming a teacher. She also was very involved with gifted students, and that’s where I became interested in reaching out to the people who really want to learn and have the ambition.

What’s the main idea that you hope to convey to your students?
That there is self-choice, we are responsible for our actions, to learn how to make healthy decisions, and be informed. It’s an ever-changing field, so in order to stay up on it you have to do research. It’s everything from reading history books to having a better understanding of health education, as well as staying up-to-date on the ever-changing aspects of the field.

Do you have a specific method for teaching?
I think I’m pretty pragmatic in the sense of hands-on methods because you can relate to [the material] better. At the ages of 12, 13, and 14, we’re discussing cardiovascular disease. It may not be of any personal interest, but in essence, people can relate to it because chances are you know somebody [who] has the disease.

What do you think of Uni so far?
I really enjoy it. It’s definitely filling the expectations that I had. I was really looking forward to working with ambitious, intelligent students. I appreciate the multicultural aspect of the school, and I like that some of the kids have skipped grades. While there might be a maturity gap, it’s an opportunity for diversity in the classroom.

Are there any disadvantages to teaching high school students?
No. Actually, high school is exactly the age group that I wanted [to teach]. I had the option of getting my middle school endorsement, but high school was the youngest I wanted to go. I think adolescence is somewhat underestimated. Teenagers have a lot to talk about. I really appreciate that stage in life because it’s not at a full-blown development. It’s a hard time for kids, and I think some people underestimate that.

You mentioned another job. What is that?
I work as a crisis clinician — a mobile counselor, if you will. We work with a lot of adolescents. We assess for suicide, homicide — we go into the jail and do mental health screenings on people who might be suicidal or homicidal. We go into hospitals and do screenings, nursing homes, and we try to stabilize the situation: link them up with services. It’s different every time you go into the workplace, which is what I appreciate.

Do those experiences help you connect with adolescents as you teach?
Yeah, definitely. In fact, all of my jobs have been social work. I used to work at a rehab [clinic], I used to work in domestic violence, and now I’m working in crisis. It allows me to bring real-world situations into the classroom. When I talk about drug education, I can talk about working with people who are addicts, or who broke up families because of alcoholism or because of meth. I can bring in real-world experiences of children being innocent victims of sexual abuse, or women being victims of domestic abuse.

Being in the crisis world, you get exposed to all types of mental illness and major behavioral problems. Having the extremes of no behavioral problems in the classroom, and then going to my other job and having to call the cops to restrain someone keeps me centered.

Is there anything else you think Uni students should know about you?
I have a minor in community health, and I’m looking forward to starting grad school [at the U of I] to get my major in community health.