Staff & Student Features

Meet the Spectacular Ms. Stroud

By: Juan Leyva Perez & Jonathan Alarcon Adame

Q: Where did you go to college?

Ms. Stroud: "The University of Akron."

Q: What type of class do you teach?

Ms. Stroud: "I teach English, English II & English I Credit Recovery."

Q: Are you excited to teach at HHIHS?

Ms. Stroud: "I am. Umm… the year has been going very well so far. My students are great, everybody has been very welcoming, it’s been great."

Q: What is your favorite part to teach in class?

Ms. Stroud: "My favorite about teaching in class is interacting with my students and getting to their point of view on some things. I love when we’re learning something and talking about something and a student will say something that even I didn’t think about. I think just getting that back and forth and being able to open up- other people's minds about things."

Q: Do you like to live in the Lowcountry?

Ms. Stroud: "I do. I love living in the Lowcountry. Everybody here is very nice. Everybody in Ohio is nice, but here it’s different. It's like everybody is very welcoming, they’re always checking on me, making sure I am doing okay. The hospitality, the southern hospitality is definitely real. Then the food here is amazing, the views obviously."

Q: How do you deal with stress?

Ms. Stroud: "For stress, I think I just have to tell myself it’s okay to take a break and it’s okay to feel stress and be okay with almost. But also yeah it’s okay to give yourself a break. I think a lot of the times when we know we have a lot going on, we don’t forgive ourselves enough and let ourselves take a step back. Being able to just say, “okay I’ve done so much this week, I wanna watch TV today or I wanna go to the beach today or this week I am not going to do any work.” So I think just being able to disconnect to like your life from your work life or your life from your school life, being able to just separate those things."

New Seahawk Staff Members At HHIHS

By: Lola Gallagher & Stella Piccoli

Hilton Head Island High School has expanded its staff this year. Some of the teachers wanted to voice their opinion on how their experience has been so far, and where they came from.

In A Hall, you will find Ms. Taylor, where she teaches Precalculus and Geometry to 10th, 11th, and 12th Graders. She is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and moved here because of her family. She is also a big fan of her former college, the Clemson Tigers! Her favorite thing about working here is the wonderful staff.

In C Hall, Mr. Kingsley teaches Human Geography, and he voiced his journey teaching at this school. Mr. Kingsley graduated from Toledo University. Shortly after he graduated, a teacher from HHIHS contacted Mr. Kingsley and advised him to work at this school. When asked what the best thing about working at HHIHS was, he responded, “Getting down here from Michigan, nice weather and the people.” Aside from teaching, Mr. Kingsley coaches Varsity Football and hopes that this season will be one of the best.

Another new addition to the staff is Ms. Stauffer, soon to be Mrs. Britt. Ms. Stauffer grew up in Pennsylvania and attended Temple University in Philadelphia. Shortly after, she got her Master's Degree from the University of North Texas. She recently taught at Hilton Head Island Middle School, then this year she moved to the HHIHS. She teaches 9th Grade Social Studies and AP Human Geography. She is happier than ever getting a chance to teach at the high school and is excited about the future.

Hilton Head Island High School wanted to expand its electives this year. Ms. Montgomery has introduced the dance program to our school. Dance class is a new way to have fun and express yourself in class. She attended Western Michigan University, then moved to HHI to help start the dance program. She has also taught dance in Indiana! When asked, she said she loves her job and is excited for her future at the school. We welcome our new staff to our HHIHS family and hope for great things in the future.

Ady O'Grady's Ride to Success

By: Martha Cordero & Leah Jackson

Ady O’Grady is the 2020 4A Volleyball Player of the Year. She’s a starting middle hitter senior for the Hilton Head Island Women's Volleyball team.

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Q: What led you to your decision to go to Upstate?

Ady O'Grady: "I decided to go there because when I went to the camp, the energy from the team and coach was super appealing. Also, the program is exactly what I was looking for. After playing with the team I knew I belonged there."

Q: How did you get started playing volleyball?

Ady O'Grady: "I played all sports growing up and I decided to try out for the middle school team in fifth grade. I ended up making it and since I started playing I knew it was the sport I wanted to pursue. I started to play club ball and take it seriously. I have been playing year-round since middle school."

Q: Who would you say are your top influencers/mentors?

Ady O'Grady: "My biggest mentors are Coach T, who is my coach now for HHIHS, and Coach Desimone, who was my coach at Christian Academy. Coach Desimone started my passion for volleyball. He pulled me up to varsity in 8th grade and started to form me to be the best player I could be. He put me with older girls to push myself and he taught me smart things or strategies about the game, starting when I was young. Coach T is my current coach now. I switched schools my junior year over to HHIHS and he made my transition awesome. He helped perfect a lot of my skills and made my passion for volleyball even stronger. He has done so much for me and continues to go the extra mile for his players and me. He is a great coach and I’m so grateful I get to experience being one of his players."

Q: Out of all your matches is there one that stands out to you in particular and why?

Ady O'Grady: "The state championship because there was a ton of pressure on my teammates and me. We played a great game. The state championship game was the best game I have ever played in my life and it was the most important game I’ve had to play in my career so far."

Q: What advice would you give to people who are just starting to play?

Ady O'Grady: "My advice would be to never give up and to keep pushing even if it seems like too much to handle. My recruiting was super difficult with COVID-19 and I couldn't seem to find the right place for me to commit. But I never gave up and upstate came out of nowhere and I’m so thankful I never stopped pushing myself to reach my dream."

Jaylen Sneed: All American Boy

By: Martha Cordero & Leah Jackson

Jaylen Sneed, UA All American, number six linebacker recruit in the nation, committed to Notre Dame over Oregon this summer. He got many offers from schools like Alabama, Florida, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, and many more. He’s a starting outside linebacker for Hilton Head Island High School Varsity Football and is in the class of 2022. Here's what he had to say about his success.

Q: What led you to your decision to go to Notre Dame?

Jaylen: "I decided to go to Notre Dame because when I went on a tour there, it felt like home; the coaching staff was very welcoming, and the players seemed like people I would hang out with off the field."

Q: Who's your biggest influence?

Jaylen: "My biggest influence is my mom because she always pushed me to keep working hard and making me get up even when I didn’t want to"

Q: Why is football so special to you?

Jaylen: "Football is special to me because it's my way to travel the country and it also taught me a lot of life lessons."

Q: What motivates you to succeed?

Jaylen: "Being able to do something I love as a career."

Q: How did you get started playing football?

Jaylen: "One day my mom took me out to gator football, and I’ve liked it ever since."

Meet the Self-Confidence: Ms. Spisz

By: Juan leyva Perez & Nicole Antonio

Q: Where did you go to college?

Ms. Spisz: "I went to Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio."

Q: Why did you decide to become a teacher?

Ms. Spisz: "I always enjoyed explaining things to people, and I knew I could never do a desk job. I want some interaction with people all day long. My high school English teacher, the way he ran to class, I fell in love with English that year. So I decided to become an English teacher because I love reading and writing."

Q: What is your favorite thing about teaching?

Ms. Spisz: "Definitely interacting with the students is my favorite thing about teaching."

Q: Do you like working here and what excites you about working here?

Ms. Spisz: "I love working at Hilton Head Island High School. It's my dream job. In my junior year of high school we wrote an essay at the end of the year where we said ‘Where will we see ourselves in 10 years?’ and I wrote about teaching English at Hilton Head Island High School as a junior in high school. The thing that excites me every day is seeing the students grow and seeing them make new friends in their classes and growing into the young adults that they are."

Q: How long have you been teaching?

Ms. Spisz: "This is my third full year of teaching but I've been teaching for three and a half years, but I started in January of 2019."

Q: Who is your favorite Marvel character?

Ms. Spisz: "My favorite Marvel character would be Captain America or the new Marvel character Shang-Chi."

Teaching English During Covid-19

By: Isabelle Drake

Mrs. Hartman is an English teacher at HHIHS. She discusses teaching during COVID-19 and how it is different from teaching without all of the restrictions in place. She is glad that the student is back in the classroom and that she doesn’t have to talk to a screen every day. She says that it’s different from what teaching used to be and that it is a lot harder because of COVID-19. “It’s a lot harder to teach without seeing them face-to-face,” she says. Teaching is very different from what it used to be with the restrictions, in place, and mask-wearing. The school has some hope will soon turn back to what it used to be before the pandemic started.

The Lucky AP: Mr. Lorenz

By: Lola Gallagher & Stella Piccoli

The Assistant Principal at Hilton Head Island High School is Mike Lorenz. Mr. Lorenz decided to go into the education field to help others because he struggled with dyslexia his whole life. Dyslexia is a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that does not affect general intelligence. His goal growing up was to play football at the University of Wisconsin and get to the NFL. His family and teachers growing up helped him achieve that goal and he got a full-ride scholarship to the University of Wisconsin. He had a great football career while attending this school. He entered the NFL draft for the Patriots but got cut after three months in 2005.

A couple of weeks later, he decided that he wanted to give back and start a new teaching career. His first teaching job was in Wisconsin, he taught Social Studies, coached Football, and Weight-Lifting. In 2014, he moved to Hilton Island Head. He taught History and coached Basketball at HHIHS. After a few years, he became the Assistant Principal in hopes of helping students reach their own goals.

Talking to Jazziest Person: Jada

By: Juan leyva Perez & Nicole Antonio

Q: What grade are you in?

Jada: "I’m in the 10th grade."

Q: What is your favorite class?

Jada: "My favorite class is Algebra 2 and Culinary Arts 1."

Q: Do you like Journalism? Who would you recommend this class to?

Jada: "Not really, but it will be a good class to take if you enjoy Journalism."

Q: Which class would you like to get, next semester?

Jada: "I would like to have Theatre Class because it seems like a fun and easier class to take."

Q: How are you liking this school?

Jada: "School is okay. I love being here sometimes."

Q: What is your easiest and hardest class?

Jada: "My favorite Marvel character would be Captain America or the new Marvel character Shang-Chi."

Ady O'Grady's Ride to Success

By: Martha Cordero & Leah Jackson

Reagan Marchant is a D1 athlete that committed to the University of South Carolina in 2021. She plays for the Hilton Head Varsity Softball team and Carolina Elite. Her primary position is first base and her secondary position is third base. Here's what she had to say about herself.

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Q: Why did you choose to go to USC?

Reagan: "I chose USC because I always wanted to play at the top level in the SEC. When I went to visit the campus I fell in love with the coaches, players, and facilities. I couldn’t picture myself anywhere else."

Q: How did you get started playing volleyball?

Reagan: "I played all sports growing up and I decided to try out for the middle school team in fifth grade. I ended up making it and since I started playing I knew it was the sport I wanted to pursue. I started to play club ball and take it seriously. I have been playing year-round since middle school."

Q: Who would you say are your top influencers/mentors?

Reagan: "My biggest mentors are Coach T, who is my coach now for HHIHS, and Coach Desimone, who was my coach at Christian Academy. Coach Desimone started my passion for volleyball. He pulled me up to varsity in 8th grade and started to form me to be the best player I could be. He put me with older girls to push myself and he taught me smart things or strategies about the game, starting when I was young. Coach T is my current coach now. I switched schools my junior year over to HHIHS and he made my transition awesome. He helped perfect a lot of my skills and made my passion for volleyball even stronger. He has done so much for me and continues to go the extra mile for his players and me. He is a great coach and I’m so grateful I get to experience being one of his players."

Q: Out of all your matches is there one that stands out to you in particular and why?

Reagan: "The state championship because there was a ton of pressure on my teammates and me. We played a great game. The state championship game was the best game I have ever played in my life and it was the most important game I’ve had to play in my career so far."

Q: What advice would you give to people who are just starting to play?

Reagan: "My advice would be to never give up and to keep pushing even if it seems like too much to handle. My recruiting was super difficult with COVID-19 and I couldn't seem to find the right place for me to commit. But I never gave up and upstate came out of nowhere and I’m so thankful I never stopped pushing myself to reach my dream."

Reagan Marchant

By: Hannah Dye, Martha Cordero, and Leah Jackson

Reagan Marchant is a D1 athlete that committed to the University of South Carolina in 2021. She plays for Hilton Head Varsity Softball team and for Carolina Elite. Her primary position is first base and her secondary position is third base. Here's what she had to say about herself.

Q: Why did you choose to go to USC?

A: I chose USC because I always wanted to play at the top level in the SEC. When I went to visit the campus I fell in love with the coaches, players, and facilities. I couldn’t picture myself anywhere else.

Q: When/ how did you start playing softball?

A: I was in kindergarten, I was 5 years old when I started playing.

Q: Who has been your biggest mentor/ influence on your journey?

A: My 10u travel ball coach. Her name is Britt and she played college softball at Seton Hall University and she was the first person I truly looked up to, and wanted to be like when I was older. She plays a big part in the way I play the game today.

Q: What motivates you to succeed?

A: Obviously winning is my main motivation. There is no better feeling than competing with your team and coming out with a win.

Q: What's your favorite thing about softball?

A: By far my favorite thing about softball is the people. I have met some amazing people and definitely made some lifelong friends through softball. I also love how softball has taught me so many life lessons that I use on and off the field.

Staff Feature: Ms. Hudson

By: Hannah Dye, lEAH jACKSON, and Martha Cordero.

Ms. Hudson, 9th grade Algebra 1 and 2 teacher, and assistant softball coach, is this week's staff feature! She's from Goosecreek, SC (Charleston area).

Q: How long have you been teaching?

A: This is my 9th year teaching.

Q: What is your favorite part about teaching?

A: Getting to know my students and getting to help them understand math better.

Q: Why did you choose to teach math?

A: I'm a very structured and disciplined person and in math there's only one answer to get. I like problem solving.

Q: What is the difference between this school and other schools you’ve taught at?

A: We have a very big Hispanic population and I like to make connections with those students to help them with math and the language barrier.

Q: How did you get started coaching softball?

A: I love softball and I wanted to be able to teach it to the next generation. I played softball in high school and college, and I coached a travel team right after college. I started teaching and I’ve coached every year since.

Q: How long have you been coaching softball?

A: I’ve been coaching for 10 years.

New student? Who?

By: Isabelle Drake

Lilly George was interviewed about moving here. She said that school is going really great she is really liking it here because of “the diverse opportunities for courses.” She said “it's really interesting here it can be a little awkward at some point especially at lunch,” but luckily because her fellow freshman and upperclassmen have been so kind it hasn't been as bad as she expected to be. She said her best subject “personally would probably be math and science” just because math has been always her specialty. She’s been good at it and it always found is fascinating it's really easy for her. She and her family moved here because from the summer her parents had received an amazing job opportunity for their career and the state has much better schools. She moved from Fayetteville Arkansas which is within 30 minutes of Bentonville Arkansas which is where the headquarters of Walmart and Tyson and many other companies are located.

Student Feature: Stella Piccioli

By: Caleb Bison

Stella Piccioli is currently a senior at Hilton Head High School. She has gone to the school for the past four years and enjoys it a lot. Her favorite things to do are hanging out with friends and going to the beach. She’s also an anchor in the school’s news show and has written articles for the school newspaper. “My favorite part of going to school here was meeting new people,” she says. “My favorite class was Probability and Statistics with Mr. Koestler. He has a really good way of teaching complicated things in an easy way and he’s very nice.” She says her biggest struggle at the school though would be parking her big pickup truck in the school parking lot. “My favorite moment at the high school is finding out that I can graduate early,” says Stella. She plans on graduating early this year. And after high school she plans to go to cosmetology school in Bluffton and become a cosmetologist.

Teacher of the Year Nominee

By: Alyssa Spurling

Seahawk Times had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Oana Bejan. She was nominated for teacher of the year!

What do you teach?

“I teach study skills, which is a block where students who are in special education, they have an IEP, students that have individualized learning plans, they all come to me to work on their school work, or anything that they may need help with.”

Are you excited to be teacher of the year?

“Yes! I am very humbled and honored, I could not believe I had gotten it for the school. I couldn't believe I was chosen because I was up against two very awesome teachers. I was also nominated for the top five for the district.”

What kind of opportunities does this open up for you?

“I am now part of the teacher forum for the district, which is a way for teachers to collaborate with each other, but also to be a voice for the teachers and their school. It opens the door so I can be a voice for our school specifically, and it makes it easier to help bring up issues other teachers deal with. We help find ways to solve or lessen the problem.”

Staff Feature: Ms. Spisz

By: Caleb Bison

Ms. Spisz is an English 3, English 3 Honors, and Journalism teacher at Hilton Head Island High School. Before Journalism, she was the Newspaper Production teacher, but the classes merged together this year. She also tutors, teaches summer school, and runs Model UN and Academic World Quest. Ms. Spisz is from Cleveland, Ohio and graduated with a major in Adolescence Young Adult Education Integrated Language Arts in 2018. Before coming to Hilton Head, which was her first official teaching job, she did field experience at other schools while in college and interned in student teaching.

“My English 3 Honors class in high school inspired me to become an English teacher,” she says.

“Every time you read something you discover something new...I love the analytical side of English. I like analyzing text and seeing how the author uses different text features to get their message across.”

This is Ms. Spisz’s third year teaching at Hilton Head High School and she says, “The students are definitely my favorite part about teaching at Hilton Head High School. Never a dull moment. They’re very funny and kind...most of the time. It’s great to see them grow into young adults.” When she’s not teaching Ms. Spisz also enjoys reading, watching movies (especially Marvel), hiking, and fishing.

New Guidance Counselor

By: Isabelle Drake

Mr. Keck is the new guidance counselor for last names A-C. His office is located in the counseling office and the first door on the right. He also goes and supervises the cafeteria lunches. The best time to see him is after a period, during lunch, or during SLT. A fun fact about him is that he has two children his daughter (six) and his son (three). He moved here two weeks ago from New Jersey where he was a counselor for seven years, and he is a big sports fan.

Meet Juan

By: Nicole Antonio

What grade are you in?

I am in the 10th grade, I'm a sophomore.

How are you liking this school?

I like this school, it's amazing. There are awesome teachers. I hope we can get to do more activities than last year. And I like my classes, they're fun!

What is your favorite class and why?

My favorite class would be Culinary Arts 1 because you learn how to cook and bake!

What classes would you like to have next semester?

Well, I would like to get Spanish 3 and get Algebra 2.

Is there anything you don't like about this school?

I don't really know. It's kind of old school, the interior design needs to be remodeled. Have the bathrooms clean and new, and include a third bathroom for non-binary people. Getting better security, and having more diverse teachers.

Is journalism a class you would recommend to your friends/classmates and why?

I would recommend Journalism to people who like to write news articles or want to be an anchor for the news show.

Interview to Michaela

By: Jonathan Alarcon, Nicole Antonio & Juan Leyva Perez

What are you involved with in school?

I’m not involved with anything much at the moment. But, next semester I’ll be taking band and I will be participating a lot with my classmates.

What is your favorite class?

Out of all my classes, I enjoy Journalism the most because of the things we do. We get to interact with new people, be creative and do many more fun things.

Who is your favorite teacher? Why?

I love all my teachers because of how much I love learning.

What are you most looking for in a high school?

The thing I’m looking for most in high school is education because it’s very important to not only me but my family as well. It’s fundamental to my future.

How are you liking this school?

So far, I’ve learned that this school definitely has some flaws, but I enjoy being here.

What is your easiest class and why?

Personally, my easiest class is Algebra because I enjoy doing math and it’s easy to understand.

Welcome Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Bejan

By: Emeli Perez Morales

Mrs. Bejan has been nominated for teacher of the year. She is one of the top five teachers of Beaufort County School District. Mrs. Bejan said,” I am incredibly honored, I think it is a great opportunity to be nominated for teacher of the year, but also the top five.” She believes that she “can be a voice” for the teachers at Hilton Head Island High School. She wants to “try finding solutions for teachers' issues as they come up at the district.”

Her inspiration is helping students become successful. “I think the most important thing to me as a teacher is helping students succeed, helping them be the best they can be, guiding them if they struggle, cheering them when they achieve success, and just generally seeing that spark, I can do it with my students.” She likes helping students and seeing them succeed.

When she is not grading papers she is with her kids. “I do have two small children that are in the elementary school at Hilton Head Elementary, so I spend my whole time with them,” she said.

A fun fact about her is that she is originally from Romania and moved to the United States when she was 24 years old.

Administration Feature

By: Stella Piccioli & Lola Gallagher

The assistant principal at Hilton Head High is Mike Lorenz. Mr. Lorenz decided to go into the education field to help others, because he struggled with dyslexia his whole life. Dyslexia is a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that does not affect general intelligence. His goal growing up was to play football at the University of Wisconsin and get to the NFL. His family and teachers growing up helped him achieve that goal and he got a full ride scholarship to the University of Wisconsin. He had a great football career while attending this school. He entered the NFL draft for the Patriots, but got cut after three months in 2005.

A couple weeks later, he decided that he wanted to give back and start a new teaching career. His first teaching job was in Wisconsin, he taught social studies, coached football, and weight lifting. In 2014, he moved to Hilton Head. Taught History and coached basketball at Hilton Head High. After a few years he became the assistant principal in hopes of helping students reach their own goals.

Amare Ford

By: Leah Jackson

Amare Ford, Lowerstate Defender of the Year, First Team All-State Defense, First Team All-Lowerstate Defense, is a college athlete that committed to Hampton University in spring of 2021. He plays for the Hilton Head High Varsity Lacrosse Team. His primary position is Defense. Here's what he had to say about himself.

Q: Why did you choose to go to Hampton?

A: The reason I chose Hampton is because I connected with the coaches and players really well, and I can see myself going there.

Q: When did you start playing lacrosse?

A: I started playing lacrosse my freshman year, I was 15

Q: Who has been your biggest mentor/ influence on your journey?

A: My biggest influencer is definitely my mom, she’s the one taking me to camps and places to get looks from colleges. I couldn't have made it without her.

Q: What motivates you to succeed?

A: What motivates me to succeed is when people tell me I can’t do something or I’m not good enough that pushes me to prove everyone wrong.

Q: What's your favorite thing about lacrosse?

A: My favorite thing about lacrosse is it’s the only sport you can beat someone with a stick.

Q: Why did you start playing lacrosse?

A: I started playing lacrosse because I enjoy contact sports like football and lacrosse.