West Welcomes Theresa Kim

Theresa Kim is a new math teacher here at West, teaching ELL Algebra and Algebra I. In addition to teaching at West, she also teaches Algebra II at Glenbard South. Before teaching in Glen Ellyn, Ms. Kim taught Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry at Chicago Public Schools and Lake Park High School. She majored in math education at Western Governors University and received a master’s degree in English Language Learning. Prior to majoring in math education, she started off as a chemistry major, hoping to go into healthcare. However, teaching “was always in the back of [her] mind.” If she ever taught, she thought she would teach a language or a science class. Ultimately, she ended up liking teaching math better as “it is very applicable in a lot of subjects.” She particularly enjoys her ELL class because “math is universal, the same in every country” and she “could [teach] a wide range of things with more real-life application.” In high school, Ms. Kim always loved math, but chemistry was ultimately her favorite subject. She soon realized that she preferred learning chemistry to teaching it; she felt that it was “more fulfilling to go the math route” of teaching. Ms. Kim hopes to get further involved at West next year by coaching volleyball. She finds it important to get involved because “that is what [she] often did when [she] was in school.”