The end of the 2022-2023 school year marks a time of goodbyes, as Dean of Students Ms. Rachel Lintgen will be leaving to be a division head at Hathaway Brown in Ohio.
Ms. Lintgen describes this moment as bittersweet, as she spent three years of her high school life at GA, came back as an English teacher, and is now the Dean of Students.
Ms. Lintgen started at GA in her sophomore year of high school and still has really fond memories of her time as a student here. She reflects back and talks about how her teachers have really shaped her experience as a student at GA.
“I had a really amazing History teacher, Mr. Jack Rydel. I had him for AP U.S. History, and then for Modern America. A lot of my best memories are in his class,” Ms. Lintgen said.
Mr. Ted Haynie was an English teacher whom Ms. Lintgen believed had a great impact on her. During her time here as a student, she was not very fond of taking English classes, however, she found Mr. Haynie’s classes to be particularly interesting.
“I had him as a teacher during my three years at GA, and he was a mentor to me, and soon became a dear friend,” she said.
She also mentioned that besides being an academic, she was also on the field hockey team. “Ms. Hoffman was my field hockey coach, and I remember winning the Inter-Ac and that was a really special moment for me,” Ms. Lintgen said.
Ms. Lintgen returned to GA as a teacher in 2013. She has really enjoyed being an English teacher, especially for ninth graders because she enjoys seeing them grow as a student.
“I’ve had the opportunity to teach students in ninth grade and then teach them again in 11th or 12th grade,” Ms. Lintgen said. “That always feels rewarding because you get to see how much someone has grown from September of their ninth grade year to when they’re just about done with GA, and that always feels really good to me.”
Another aspect of being an English teacher that she enjoyed was designing electives. Ms. Lintgen said, “I really love having the opportunity to teach the things I love and work with a wide range of students.”
Her favorite elective that she has taught has been her Monsters in Literature class. She said, “this was an elective that often drew people in and has been very engaging.”
Additionally, Ms. Lintgen was a Truesdell house head for four years. During these four years, her favorite memory was the house breakfast on the day of House Olympics.
“It would be in the parents room, and the faculty would help out, and that was really special to me,” she said.
As a Dean of Students, Ms. Lintgen enjoyed programming Community Time. Her favorite one in particular was the 2022-2023 Black History Month Community Activity. The community time focused on black excellence by making paper quilts that were hung up around the school.
Ms. Lintgen’s next school, Hathaway Brown, is an all-girls school, which is a new environment for her. Ms. Lintgen is looking forward to learning the new traditions, as she very much enjoyed House Olympics here at GA. She describes her feelings about the new change as curious, excited, and open-minded.
“Leaving GA is bittersweet. I’m really excited to be a division director at Hathaway Brown, and this has been my ambition for a really long time,” Ms. Lintgen said. “I really love this community and this place. I’ve had wonderful relationships with my colleagues and students, so there’s sadness there.”