Rhea Kapur (V)
Ms. Alexandra Lasevich joins Pingry this fall as the new Math Department Chair. She also teaches Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry, both regular and honors, as well as Precalculus.
After earning a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Rochester, Ms. Lasevich went on to receive an M.S. in Educational Leadership at Delaware Valley University. She is currently working on her dissertation for an EdD from Delaware Valley University and aims to defend it this summer. Her research focuses on international faculty teaching in independent schools and examines how they are adjusting to teaching in schools they never attended. Ms. Lasevich herself was born and raised in Russia, and she notes how interesting it has been for her to come to America and experience a different style of education.
Prior to coming to Pingry, Ms. Lasevich taught math at Princeton Day School and was a part of the Community and Multicultural Development Team. She also led a number of student organizations: two affinity groups (the LGBTQ affinity group and the Jewish affinity group), GLOW (similar to Pingry’s GSA), SAFE (a diversity group), and a Russian Club.
When asked to detail her path to teaching, Ms. Lasevich said “When I came to this country, I was studying to be a computer engineer. And when I arrived at my first school, I didn’t speak English. They realized very quickly that my math was more advanced than that of the average American student, so they asked me to tutor.”
“At first, I looked at it more as a source of income, but people were coming in, and all of a sudden there were lines and lines of people,” she said. “They kept saying, “You should teach, you should teach, you’re good at it!” So I switched to pure mathematics––I hadn’t yet decided to teach, though––and pursued theoretical mathematics for some time, until the end of my senior year, when I decided to get my certification.”
In addition to teaching mathematics, Ms. Lasevich also advises Middle School Homework Club and plans to help out the Russian Literature Humanities Independent Research Team with understanding the meanings and cultural context behind the various Russian names.
“I want to not get lost this year. It’s confusing, but I think I’m OK now with the corridors,” Ms. Lasevich joked. But, in all seriousness, she hopes to get to know the school, the school culture, and the Math Department better, and just observe and learn.
“I love it here,” she said. “I think it is an amazing place to work. And from what I see, it seems to be an amazing place to be a student.”
Ms. Lasevich spends quite a bit of her free time working on her dissertation. But she also loves to garden; it’s one of her favorite things to do. Currently, she’s experimenting with new plants, growing from seeds and learning how to care for her newly fruiting fruit trees.