Being a part of something from the beginning and staying with it to its current stage is something that not many people usually do. Whether it is a commitment or a job, people usually find something different to move on to. Tiffany Banh, the chemistry and anatomy teacher, has been working here at Mt. SAC Early College Academy (MECA) since its first day.
From the beginning, Banh has worked in many different positions here at MECA. These roles ranged from being a teacher to an advisor, or even a social media manager.
“In my first and second year, I was at one point the biology teacher, CCR teacher, website manager, social media manager, and ASB advisor all at the same time,” Banh said. “We had such a small staff, teachers often had to take on multiple roles. In my third and fourth years, I taught both biology and chemistry before transitioning to chemistry entirely, which I’ve been teaching along with human anatomy ever since.”
But having multiple roles would not be the only thing that changed over the time she was here. Things like events, dances, and school competitions changed over the time she had worked at MECA. Even the number of students and teachers who started with such a tiny number grew to a massive size. Not only that, but it was only 9th graders in the beginning. As time went on, it grew to 10th, 11th, and finally 12th grade.
“There have been a number of major changes at the school since I’ve been here. Just to start, we only had 60-70 students and 5 teachers in the first year. The houses and house competitions were also different, as you may know,” Banh said. “We started off with kappa, delta, gamma, and sigma, and house competitions were held every month. We also used to offer courses like robotics, coding, and physics that are no longer offered.”
However, this was only a fraction of the changes Banh has witnessed over the time MECA has been in existence. Before she had even joined the school, she had just graduated from college and found her way into teaching.
“This was my first job after graduating from university and my teaching program, and I’ve been here ever since,” Banh said. “At the time, I think I was just happy to have gotten a job offer right out of college, and since the school hadn’t opened yet, I didn’t know what to expect. That said, I’m very happy at MECA, and even though I took a risk by jumping in as a first-year teacher at a brand new school, I don’t have any regrets.”
Some of her colleagues who have been almost as long as she has here at MECA have some memories about Banh within the early years of MECA.
“When I first started, Ms Bahn was the first ASB adviser, so she had planned a lot of events like house competitions. She had also taught biology, so I worked with her a lot,” Courtny Bell says. “She was really fun to work with her and it was a great pleasure to.”
With the time she spent as a teacher here at MECA, it wasn’t just fun memories she made, but also knowledge and advice she would give to students who tend to strive for perfection.
“For students specifically, I think it’s so important to let go of perfection. I’ve seen students get so stressed out trying to juggle straight As, college classes, extracurriculars, and community service.” Banh said. “I’ve even heard some students express that they need straight A+’s, and that anything lower is not enough. I just want students to know that although it’s important to do well and try your best, it is 100% okay for your high school record to be ‘imperfect.’”
With all that being said, Banh is still going strong and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Remember to say hi if you see her walking down the halls because the last original member of MECA is still working hard.
