Meet the newest member of the Fenwick Faculty, Ms. Legac! Ms. Legac is the assistant moderator of the Asian Club and has started teaching Honors Pre-Calculus and College Prep Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus this year at Fenwick.
Ms. Legac is originally from Michigan and said she was incredibly involved in high school and participated in many sports such as cheer, cross country, basketball, and volleyball. Our newest math teacher grew up in a family of teachers, and when asked why she became one she said, “I have always liked math and helping people who didn’t understand it.” Ms. Legac wants to challenge her students. She describes her classes as hard, but she says, “I want them [my students] to struggle, but with that struggle, comes a huge growth.” Ms. Legac believes that struggle is the path to success and that learning through hardship is what really makes students learn and defines them.
Ms. Legac shared a past experience where a student went to her and said that they were prouder of a B they had gotten in her class than any A they had ever received. Ms. Legac tries getting students out of their comfort zones to experience diverse ways of learning, such as making their own math problems. Her guidance for Fenwick students centers around hard work and discipline. She states, “You can grow your mind; it’s not fixed. No one is born with so much intelligence,” meaning that being hardworking is not born; it’s made. School is all about growing the mind, and achieving something is all about how much effort is being put in.
She also wants every student to know that everything is going to be okay, and to not compare themselves to other students. When asked about first impressions of Fenwick, she says that the Fenwick students are genuine, motivated, and hardworking. She describes Fenwick as a respectful and inviting environment, and that so far, it has been a wonderful experience for her. Similarly, Math Department Chair Mr. Kribs, who started teaching at Fenwick in 2012, shares what he initially thought of Fenwick: “I was most struck by the Fenwick faculty’s devotion to the school, exemplified by the number of teachers who had taught at Fenwick for decades. I was extremely fortunate to have one of those teachers, Bob Arscott, assigned as my mentor. I still think back fondly on how he supported me in my early years. I’d like to think that Mr. Arscott is up there right now teaching calculus to the angels.” Similar to Ms. Legac’s response, Mr. Kribs describes Fenwick as devoted and was lucky enough to have a mentor that made an impact on him as a teacher. Mr. Kribs also shares that he enjoys teaching Fenwick students whom he describes as “the very best and brightest the world has to offer.” Both teachers provide positive viewpoints about the students and teachers here at Fenwick.
At an early age, Ms. Legac recalls realizing that math was everywhere and that it translates into all other subjects; this realization helped fuel her passion for teaching it. She states that math is not made up, it is logical. For this reason, it is somewhat of a foundation for other courses. This viewpoint mirrors Mr. Kribs, as he shares that he too believes that a math teacher should “help students appreciate how math describes the world around them.” When describing math, he says, “Math is beautiful; math is perfect; and math is the language of the universe.” Both math teachers have similar views about how math is everywhere and how its foundation is based on logic and reason. Ms. Legac’s passion for math and determination to motivate will help her students learn and thrive in the classroom.
