Mr. Colakovic is the choir teacher of 7th and 8th grade. He has always wanted to teach choir. His mother spent time as a choir director at a High School in Minnesota. He grew up with his mom also directing church youth and adult choir.  Mr. C experienced performing on stage in an ensemble and as a soloist at a young age. He felt power in it all and there is power in making music. He says, “After I received a B.A. in Music from Wabash College, I had no desire to test myself in fields such as sales or anything that required me to have a competitive mindset. Since my undergrad program didn’t offer a music education certification, I knew I had to further my education. I did my graduate studies at Vandercook College, where I earned my Masters and Certification to teach K-12 Music. “ Like he mentioned before, he has always wanted to teach choir, but he wanted to stay loyal to the first school that hired him for 12 years. It was a K-8 general music position at John Harvard School of Excellence and he was able to grow in ways that have prepared him to teach at Merrillville. Mr. C’s biggest fear is that the ice caps will melt and the ocean currents will become stagnant, causing a domino effect of changes that we will all endure. His biggest pet peeve is when someone's pain is used as a form of entertainment for those who have become desensitized. This is what he had to say when I asked if cereal was soup, “For me, cereal has never been in the same category as soup. I’ll take Cap’n Crunch or Chicken noodle, but they’re way different.” Lastly, he thinks that technology has ‘obviously’ raised the level of laziness in society. He believes, “Instead of harping on that negativity, we should be focused on the positive effects of technology.” 

Ms. Jackson is the new social studies teacher for the Purple Team and was also the old computer science teacher. Also, this is her first school year teaching at Pierce Middle School. From her time as a new social studies teacher, she says that “It’s been difficult, but rewarding at the same time.” Ms. Jackson also misses being a computer science teacher as well. She says, “Sometimes I do miss it. I think we had a lot of fun in computer science; I just miss the projects we did.” If there was one thing she could tell the students, it would be to “Think before you act.” While the one thing she would tell the world is to “Love each other.” In addition to her life as a teacher, Ms. Jackson has traveled before. While she has never been out of the country, she has been to Texas, Massachusetts, and Arizona. One thing she hates is when she is not being heard. Her favorite color is pink. Lastly, Ms. Jackson has two pets. One is a turtle named Franklin, while one is a dog named Kandi.

Mr Ulrich.Collage and Career.8th grade

Mr. Ulrich teaches College and Career classes for the 8th grade. This is Mr. Ulrich’s 4th year of teaching and 3rd year teaching here at Pierce. He says his favorite thing about teaching is that he gets to build relationships with students and build their confidence about what they can do. He went to college to become a pastor along with spending 10 years in the automotive industry until he moved to Merrillville in 2016 and started a church called Re.Think Church. He became a teacher to help train a generation of kids to resolve issues in the community today. His favorite hobby is working out.  The Office is his favorite TV show. Mr. Ulrich’s favorite movie franchise is the Lord of Rings.  As for musical artists, he loves U2, The Descendants, and Flatfoot 56. 

Mrs. Benton-School Treasurer

She started her job here at Merrillville because she likes the flexibility of her time being treasurer due to the fact she can work at her own pace. Mrs. Benton has been treasurer for six years and loves her job. It's a very important job in the school district. She feels a sense of purpose when she’s at work. She believes, “When you have a clear understanding of what you need to accomplish, you can enjoy a less stressful work environment; having great expectations is important.” Her dream job is to be a home interior decorator. She likes to go bowling in her free time along with girls nights out. She enjoys playing cards with her family. Mrs. Benton loves to cook, bake, shop, dance, and make people laugh. She loves gospel music, but her favorite R&B artists are Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson. Her favorite TV channel  is HGTV because she loves seeing homes being decorated and seeing things look beautiful. She has a Bichon Frise dog named Chubby as well as a Goldendoodle named Brownie. She is a very fun person to be around. Additionally, Mrs. Benton is married, a mother of 4, and a grandmother of 7.

Mrs. Smith wanted to work here in Merrillville as a substitute because she loves helping people. Her dream job is to become a police officer. Colombiana is her favorite movie. Mrs. Smith has two dogs named Keeper and Zeus. Their breeds are a Pitbull and a Cane Corso. She graduated from HBCU and she likes to play softball in her free time.  

       A true aesthete and a joyous woman to be around, Mrs. Johnsen works closely with Pierce’s eighth-grade students to incorporate the world of fine arts into their lives. She is a devoted individual to her craft and has quite the knack for turning her creative visions into reality, yet there is a whole new painting beyond the illustration that our eyes meet day-to-day. 

Before embarking on her teaching journey, Mrs. Johnsen had initially worked as a professional commercial interior designer and project manager. “I decided that I would rather try to advocate for children’s education, so I figured becoming a teacher would be a good start,” Mrs. Johnsen says. Currently, she is in her third year of teaching eighth graders, however she did spend a brief period of time teaching kindergarten through sixth-grade students. After experiencing both environments, she ultimately decided that she had a preference for teaching older individuals. Sooner or later, Mrs. Johnsen hopes to add college instruction onto her résumé to claim its rightful spot with the rest of her certifications. Aside from being an art instructor, Mrs. Johnsen has a background in the world of string instruments. She stated, “Before I went back to school to become a teacher, I taught violin at a private school after I’d get off from my nine-to-five job.” 

Mrs. Johnsen is married and has two sons, who are 18 and 16 years old respectively. On top of that, she also shares a home with her three dogs and a fish tank. A mother’s love runs deep for her boys, as everything she does in life is for their sake. 

As a young student, Mrs. Johnsen participated on the volleyball team during middle school. Once she reached freshman year, she attempted to try-out, but chickened out after the first day. “NEVER do that! I found out that I would have made the team,” Mrs. Johnsen says, reminiscing on the memory. Gradually, she branched out and eventually became passionately involved in her school’s orchestral program, even staying in the extracurricular for all four years of high school. Apart from teaching, Mrs. Johnsen tends to find pleasure when dedicating her free time to painting. During the times when family members are around, she makes an effort to keep herself busy. Though, she’d like to settle down to take a nap sometime. When questioned about her hidden talents, Mrs. Johnsen refused to disclose the information. “I will never reveal my secret powers!”

Mrs. Johnsen happily shared with me all her favorites related to art, “I like so many different artists– all for different reasons, but my first artistic love was Salvador Dali. My favorite medium is oil paint. My favorite lesson to teach is my Picasso project because it is not intimidating for new artists, and it mixes color psychology with the design. Students are required to write a brief story about the character they create based on the colors and shapes used. I absolutely love hearing the stories everyone comes up with!" 

If there was one thing Mrs. Johnsen could share with this generation of students, she noted that it would be to “Take advantage of all opportunities that come your way; never give up on your education. Your knowledge can never be taken away from you — as long as you keep learning, you will always be able to get ahead in life.”