New staff member and WHS alum Ms. Lehman recently started teaching at Westborough High School in January; she is very excited to be a part of the WHS community. 

Ms. Lehman chose to teach at WHS for many reasons, specifically because of the supportive and communal environment. 

She says, “Knowing that I wanted to be a part of a community that works together and collaborates is really important, this is definitely a collaborative place to be.”

Ms. Lehman is currently co-teaching English, various freshman history classes, and an academic support class. Before starting her career at WHS, Ms. Lehman attended the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT as a special education major, before switching to early childhood education for her last few years. The new addition to WHS has always wanted to pursue her teaching career, as it is something that has always come naturally to her. 

One thing Ms. Lehman reflected on was the major change from being in college to then starting a full time job. The transition from college to working full time is significant, but Ms. Lehman views this change as a very positive one. She stated it’s important to have a “super set schedule,” which is something that she uses a lot now. 

During the hiring process, Ms. Lehman said that she felt very supported by the staff, specifically by Mr. Callaghan and Special Education Director Mr. Hurvitz, who she mentioned as being very encouraging and enthusiastic about her returning back to WHS as a teacher. 

Furthermore, Ms. Lehman will be a new addition to the WHS volleyball coaching staff. Ms. Lehman is a Ranger volleyball alumni, and won the state championship in 2017. Volleyball was not just about learning the sport to her, but she took away additional knowledge that helped her navigate high school as well as college. 

Ms. Lehman had many influential teachers when she was younger who helped shape her interest in becoming a teacher herself, one in particular is social studies department head Mr. Belbin. Mr. Belbin offered his support to Ms. Lehman during a high school volleyball game, and told her that if she was ever interested in teaching at WHS, that he would love to help. 

Ms. Lehman also mentioned the role her parents played in her current success as a teacher. 

She shares, “…Feeling empowered to pursue whatever was going to make me happy and make me feel like I was giving back to my community, was really good to come from a home like that.”

Aside from teaching, Ms. Lehman loves to run. She recently ran in the Boston Marathon. She loves spending time with family, and enjoys walking her two dogs, Louie and Gus. Additionally, she loves going out to dinner in Boston to try new restaurants and explore the city. 

Ms. Lehman looked back at her time at WHS and is very thankful for the strong female role models who helped her navigate through life at the time. She spoke to the fact that now that she’s teaching, she wants to be a person who students can come to when they need advice, or even just help figuring life out.

 Ms. Lehman remarks, “High school can be a really tricky time that’s full of transitions, so if I can be somebody that students come to–like how I went to some of my coaches–then that’s what I want to be.”