Ms. Holmes

Interviewed and Written by Imani Royal

Ms. Holmes is a very important person at Pierce. She is the copy room aide, which means she helps teachers with printing and copying papers. She has worked here for over a decade, but in different positions. She does not have any pets. However, she does have two sons who have been in the Merrillville School System. Her favorite hobby is baking. She says she loves to bake cakes and cookies and try new recipes. She wishes she could teach students how to make a full-course meal to share with their families or how to bake a dessert for a special occasion. She would love to open up a bakery someday. She is the Pep Club sponsor and she enjoys working with students and faculty. She loves being a part of the Pierce family. 

Mr. Gordon

Interviewed and Written by Miranda Vargas

I chose to interview Mr. Gordon. Mr. Gordon teaches 7th grade Math on the Orange team. Mr. Gordon has been teaching for 5 months. In his free time, he likes to write and read. His favorite book is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. he likes many book genres ranging from autobiographies, poetry, and spiritual to nonfiction and humor.  Mr. Gordon’s favorite movies are Toy Story or Finding Nemo. He also likes art and being out in nature. Even though Mr. Gordon has only been teaching for 5 months, he is a great Math teacher.  

Mr. King

Interviewed and Written by Arianna Jongsma

Mr. King teaches 7th grade Computer Science and has been teaching for 12 years. He most enjoys teaching 7th to 12th grades. His biggest accomplishment that he is most proud of is that he has 2 Masters degrees and has published over five books! He has five kids and no pets. His Favorite movie is I,Robot with Will Smith and his favorite book is Tara Bara Can't Sleep by David Matthew King. Finally, his favorite food is Shrimp Fried Rice. 

Mr. Ashley

Interviewed and Written by Nasir Watkins

I chose to interview Mr. Ashley. He is an 8th grade computer science teacher. This is his first year teaching computer science. He worked in Merrillville as a staff member for 2 years and a basketball coach for 3 years. Ashley has no children (yet) or pets. In his free time, he enjoys watching and playing basketball, as well as spending time with his family. He coaches boys JV basketball. He also just recently won teacher of the month. He plans on winning again next month. Overall, Mr. Ashley is a copacetic teacher.

Ms. Lillie

Interviewed and Written by Carli McMillen

For my interview I did Ms. Lillie. She has been in education for 20 years meaning she started in 2004. She started out as a student-teacher in college. She began working for MIS and worked there for ten years and then came to Pierce to be a 7th grade math teacher on the red team! She was also an administrator for the high school and now Pierce. When she was younger she had a cat and she loved it very much. Ms. Lillie has three kids. Her oldest is 19 and her name is Folasade, her middle child is 17 turning 18 and her name is Adenike, and her youngest is 11 and his name is Robert. She loves reading and she used to love going to the library when she was a kid. She also likes singing and she used to be in a band playing bass guitar. Ms. Lillie is currently working on her educational specialist degree. Her favorite part about being a principal is interacting with students and seeing all the growth and change they make. She has achieved so much and strives to accomplish much more.

Mr. Murry

Interviewed and Written by David Mihal

Mr. Murry is an 8th grade reading intervention teacher. It is his first year teaching this for Merrillville. He has a wife, 3 sons and a daughter. He also has two very cute dogs. He grew up in Augusta, Georgia, but moved out here later in life. He currently plans on going on a vacation to South Africa to celebrate his anniversary.

Ms. Stansil

Interviewed and Written by Ren Lauber

The participants name is Ms. Stansil. She is one of the 7th grade math teachers. She has been working as a math teacher at Pierce Middle School for 1 year. She expressed that she has no favorites, as she is quite diverse. She happily mentioned her 4 children, 3 girls and 1 boy. She has a family cat, Colbie, who just turned 2 years old. She said her main hobby is spending time with her children and looking at creation. One of her most liked vacations was in Tennessee, in cabins at Gatlinburg. She expressed admiration as she explained how the mountains were a sight to see, along with the fact that the sunrise was breathtaking. She said she definitely plans to visit again. She once lived in Tennessee, but eventually moved to Gary, where her and her children live happily.