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October 4, 2017As VASJ’s enrollment continues to grow, new members are added to the school’s faculty and staff. Luck would have it that sometimes those new faces are former students of the school. This is exactly the case with VASJ’s new Viking Mindset teacher, Mr. Jason Heil ’01.
“On my first official day with students in the school, I had some of our ambassadors walk into my class, introduce themselves, and sit down and carry on a conversation with me,” says Heil. “Actions like this from our students is what makes me excited to come to school and be with our students on a daily basis. I could not be more excited to be back.”
Since he served as a substitute teacher at VASJ last year, Heil already had a good idea of the students who fill the building.
“I got a taste of where the school is at and I am aware of the quality students that we have at VASJ and am truly excited to be a part of that,” Heil says. “I can’t speak enough about the quality students that we have.”
Heil is teaching the Viking Mindset course, which is a required course for all freshmen at VASJ.
“Viking Mindset is a class that will help freshmen start off their high school career in the right way,” Heil says. “We will touch on things such as time management, study skills, organization, and leadership. I told the students the first day that I am going to do everything I can to make sure that they succeed.”
The class will also touch on the history of Villa Angela Academy, St. Joseph High School, and Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School.
“We will have guest speakers who will share their experiences with us,” Heil says. “I will be their biggest advocate, given the fact that I am the only teacher that has all of the more than 130 students in the class of 2021.”
Returning to VASJ was a no-brainer for Heil.
“I have always had strong feelings for the school and have stayed connected to it in certain ways,” Heil says. “After graduating in 2001, I was hired onto the baseball staff. I loved working with our students. After receiving my teaching degree, the first thing that I was asked was if I would be interested in coming back to VASJ. I know how special the school is and I jumped at the opportunity to come ‘home.”’
Heil is very eager to help the Class of 2021 succeed and to teach them why the Viking Village is such a special place.
“My hope this year is to help my students in any way possible,” Heil says. “I told the students that my door will always be open to them no matter what. If I can help my freshmen to be better students and to learn what it is to be a Viking, I will consider this year to be a success.”
Patrick Bradford is junior at VASJ. In addition to PR Club, he is Junior Editor of Yearbook, Co-Captain of the Science Olympiad team, Marketing/Fundraising Coordinator for Drama Club, and a member AV Club, National Honor Society, and Academic Challenge. After graduation, Patrick plans to attend New York University and major in Political Science.
