In a year where change feels like a clear theme, one change students look forward to is meeting new faculty.

“Everyone here is always smiling, which is great because I am super smiley too!” new Upper School Biology teacher Ned Heckman said about the students and faculty at St. Paul Academy and Summit School.

Heckman’s “smileyness” reflects his comfort with and enthusiasm for the art that is teaching. “I’ve been teaching since I was sixteen in various capacities,” he said.

From the East Coast originally, Heckman taught Marine Biology and Ecology at the St. Paul School in Concord, New Hampshire. He now directs the school’s Advanced Studies program and will fly to New Hampshire over the summer to pursue his passion for teaching.

In addition to his work with the St. Paul School, Heckman tutored and taught college level Nutrition courses through the TORCH (Tackling Obstacles and Raising College Hopes) program in Northfield Minnesota while studying at Carleton College.

“I’m just very connected to education,” he said.

New Upper School history teacher Amy Weisgram has a similar spirit for teaching. “There is nothing more exciting for me than seeing a student feel success!” she said. Weisgram has always been deeply interested in school and social studies; however, she did not pursue a career in education until later on in her life. Having earned a BA in Economics at St. Olaf College, Weisgram felt the natural step to take was to move into the corporate world.

After years of working as a corporate supervisor, she realized where her true passions lay and obtained her MA in Education at St. Thomas University. In the past ten years, she has taught US History, AP US Government, AP Macroeconomics, and Western Civilization at Benilde St. Margaret’s.

Weisgram kept SPA on her radar since she began her teaching career and jumped at an opening in the history department. She now teaches World History I and American History in addition to advising eleventh graders.
“Everybody is really generous and really helpful. The sense of community that I had hoped for is absolutely here!” Weisgram said about her experience at SPA thus far.

Also among the new teachers at SPA is Upper School English teacher Philip de Sa e Silva. de Sa e Silva earned his BA in English with honors at Harvard University and obtained his teaching license through Harvard’s teacher training program.

de Sa e Silva pursued his interest in the English language and writing as a tutor for Harvard’s Extension School Writing Center and later became a teaching intern in Boston’s public school system.

de Sa e Silva also served as the vice president of Harvard University’s Glee club and continues to experiment with stand-up comedy, a hobby he discovered in college. “I enjoy making people laugh when I am able to,” he said.

While de Sa e Silva’s interest in stand up comedy has taken a seat since moving to the Midwest, his passion for teaching followed him on his journey from Massachusetts via his home state Washington to Minnesota.

He was drawn to SPA’s English department and academic model, describing a job in which discussion based classes are the norm as “completely irresistible.” “There were so many conditions that encourage learning and thinking at SPA, and that is something you cannot find everywhere,” he said.

de Sa e Silva now teaches American Literature and British Literature I and will teach Seminar in Visual Narrative in the Spring.

His expectations seem to have lived up to reality as he said on his second day of teaching that, “It’s been a really enjoyable start so far. My students have been so thoughtful and engaged.”