New Upper Campus math teacher Krystal Reyes is a wanderer. Every year, now with her trusty dog in tow, she drives across the country. The places she’s combed through so far have included harsh Arizona deserts, Pacific Northwest mountains, and the plains of Indiana.
But this year, in her third state as a teacher, she’s moving into a formerly barren dorm room, adjusting to her new school and surroundings.
It’s a bit like she’s going to college again.
Ms. Reyes attended Millikin University, a small liberal arts college in Indiana, originally because she wanted to study music, but then decided to study mathematics. Still, she found it to be just as good a school for her budding teaching career.
“I got a lot of training out of it, and a lot of really good internships right away,” Ms. Reyes said. “So even while I was still in college, I was able to start teaching, and start working with classrooms and working with students. I had a tutoring job on campus, so the school I went to was really awesome because I got a lot of teaching experience.”
The university’s artistic side also allowed her to take music lessons, attend concerts, and generally stretch a creative muscle that, she believes, she might not otherwise have in another college.
On why she has become a math teacher, it’s a bit simple. Ms. Reyes was naturally good at math and it was her favorite subject in school, and she wanted a career made for helping others. And she also felt it was important for her to be a role model to her students, especially as a Latina mathematician.
“Being a Latina when I was a student, I did wish that I did have more role models to look up to, because when I was growing up, all of my math teachers were male, so I never had a female math teacher,” she said. “But I always loved math, so I wanted to change that too. And I thought, ‘So I should just become a math teacher, and I’ll be part of the solution and bring more representation into that.’”
Nowadays at OVS, Ms. Reyes thrives in the geometry and precalculus classrooms. According to her, students grapple with questions and projects that apply their mathematical learning in realistic situations, which is an approach that many students like.
“Ms. Reyes is also really thorough when answering questions, which is super helpful for someone like me who isn’t the best at math.” said senior Tallulah Bell, a precalculus student. “She really takes her time explaining things to me and making sure that it is clear.”
When she’s not teaching, Ojai residents might find Ms. Reyes weightlifting in the gym, or else with her dog, Daisy. Ms. Reyes teaches her tricks, and tours her through the local parks and trails.
“To me she seems like a pretty outgoing person, like very jolly outside of school,” said Penda Sidibe, an OVS sophomore and one of Ms. Reyes’ advisees.
There will be more states and locales for Ms. Reyes to discover in the coming years, but for now California’s Ojai Valley School is where she will stay.
“I’m still adjusting and learning new things,” she said, “but I know that it will take time.”