By Ella Hu
STAFF WRITER
Mrs. Reidy poses for a photo at her desk.
Minda Reidy, a math and computer science teacher, will retire this school year after 20 years at AHS.
Reidy teaches Enriched and Honors Geometry, as well as the elective Intro to Computer Science class for all grade levels. After school, she supervises the Robotics club that has been running for 16 years. Reidy’s impact on AHS can be seen in her accomplishments of developing the engineering program at AHS and founding the Robotics Club.
Reidy had already retired from computing before becoming a teacher at AHS. After a friend suggested she come as a substitute teacher, she agreed and tried it out. “I loved interacting with the students…helping them think about what they were going to do and what these things involved,” Reidy said. It was an experience that she could not forget, leading her to become a teacher.
Reidy’s Geometry classes and Computer Science classes have proven to be rigorous. Past students from her Geometry classes describe it as demanding, unexpected, and self-ameliorating. One student commented that it took a lot of “chutzpah,” a Hebrew word that means backbone, to go through with the class. However, they all enjoyed the effort they put into class and found the course to be difficult but rewarding. Past students, now facing their last years at AHS, agreed that the class brought everyone together. They worked together to help each other on their projects and, outside of class, became great friends.
AHS senior Aneesh Ratnala recounts his freshman year in Enriched Geometry class. He enjoyed Flatland discussions the most. Flatland was a book read by students in Reidy’s Enriched Geometry class. Ratnala said the discussions were very specific. “We talk[ed] about stuff that we really don’t talk about in other math classes,” he said. “It was very intellectually provoking.”
Many aspects of Reidy’s classes set them apart from other classes. Not only did students agree that Reidy was good at knowing her students well, but her classes also taught them to be confident in themselves. Sasha Dicovitsky, now a senior, says, “[Her class] taught me how to fend for myself.” These small details about Reidy’s class turn out to not only be able to help students learn in class but also in their future.
The same goes for the Robotics Club, where students mentioned that Reidy goes out of her way to try to help and challenge them for greater things. Josephine Pan, vice-president of the Robotics Club, said, “The people here are very dynamic, very passionate…Part of that is [because] Mrs. Reidy is able to help push us to use our passion to create those great robots.” These challenges also will come in handy in their future careers for those pursuing a similar field of study. President of the Robotics Club, Raj Kontham stated, “For me definitely, I am looking to major in computer engineering, so a lot of the skills I learned…[in] the past couple of years, for sure.”
With 20 years of teaching experience, Reidy said her focus has been mainly on helping students develop the ability to understand the new challenges presented instead of just the learning portion. She hopes that students will not only “want to know [the] why” to answers but also be able to grasp the concept behind it.
For current and future students, Reidy shared, “You can find the answers. We’ve all seen you can Google the answer, but knowing the why helps you find your own answers. Instead of just looking for the answer, understand how things work and why they work, and you will come up with new answers.”
Looking forward to retirement, Reidy plans to travel and make delicious food. She is hoping to travel to Hawaii when the whales are migrating and later to the Antarctic region following their movement.
When asked what is one word to describe her experience as a teacher at AHS, Reidy said, “Learning. Even though I’m teaching, I’m learning as well and I love that. Learning is awesome besides…Proofs are fun!”
