After stepping in for Ms. Jennifer Mack-Watkins during her leave of absence last year, Ms. Nancy Ring joined the Pingry Arts Department permanently this fall. She now teaches Art Fundamentals in the Upper School as well as two eighth grade electives, Drawing & Painting and Art & Nature. Eager to immerse herself in the community, Ms. Ring has taken on roles beyond the art studio; she co-directs the Hostetter Gallery along with Ms. Rebecca Sullivan, hosts the Middle School Art Club, co-advises Form III students with Mr. Freiwald, and serves on the Diversity Committee and the Multicultural Team.

Outside of Pingry, Ms. Ring works as a professional artist and occupies a studio space in East Orange. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry, baking, and going for runs. She recently picked up a new hobby: “I play the violin––badly. I started taking lessons in May, so I play like a kindergartener, but I love it.” Her “pride and joy” is her 20-year-old son, a music major at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.

As an undergraduate student, Ms. Ring attended the Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts and earned her B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Studio Art. Of the experience, she said, “[It was] a large university and I loved the diversity. It’s a passion of mine. The fact that there were not only artists there but also people studying every single kind of subject you can imagine––I found that exciting.” She went on to graduate from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia with her M.F.A. (Masters of Fine Art).

Ms. Ring’s passion for the visual arts has been integral to her life for nearly as long as she can imagine. “I knew I was an artist when I was eight years old,” she said. “It’s who I am. I have a very visual experience of the world…As a little, little girl, I told everyone who would listen that I was going to be an artist. I just knew.”

In this coming year, she hopes to infuse that same passion in the hearts of her students, Upper and Middle Schoolers alike. Ms. Ring’s goal “is to make sure that my students feel they own their work, that it’s not me giving out projects that matter to me but rather finding ways to relate the projects to the students’ lives in as many ways as I possibly can.” With a laugh, she added, “If I can manage it.”

If there’s anything she loves particularly about the Pingry community thus far, Ms. Ring said it’s the school’s attention to the arts. “Pingry honors art,” she explained. “In a lot of schools, art is just something on the side––you know how it is. At Pingry, there’s an arts building, there’s a professional gallery…there are a lot of talented artists. The enthusiasm for the arts here is very rare and special.” Joining an environment as conducive to artistic exploration and experimentation as Pingry has brought her nothing short of joy.

“I love Pingry. Pingry’s amazing,” she remarked. Ms. Ring added, “I knew it when I worked here as a leave replacement. I really wanted to come back, so I feel as though this is a gift. It’s wonderful!”

This fall, Dr. Brandyn Fisher joined the Pingry community as a new teacher in the Psychology Department. Dr. Fisher is teaching four sections of AP Psychology. He will also be co-advising a Form V advisory with Mr. Douglass Scott and hopes to assist in coaching Pingry’s tennis programs.

Initially inspired by his high school teacher, Dr. Fisher set out on becoming a psychology teacher himself. He attended West Virginia University, where he enjoyed being around passionate people who motivated him to pursue his passion in psychology. Regarding his academic pursuits in college, Dr. Fisher said, “I liked that college allows you to be who you want to be.”

Dr. Fisher graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a PhD in Sports Psychology, and two master’s degrees, one in Community Counseling and one in Sports Psychology. In order to get his multiple degrees, Dr. Fisher attended a rigorous concurrent-study five-year program.

In graduate school, Dr. Fisher taught undergrad classes, as he wanted to “hopefully lead other people into what they are passionate about.” After college, Dr. Fisher coached and consulted for sports psychology, specializing in tennis. He worked with several Division I college athletic programs, such as NCAA All-Americans, USTA National Champions, ITF players, and ATP/WTA players.

Dr. Fisher was drawn to Pingry because of its high emphasis on education and achievement. He wants to teach in an engaging way and “inspire a passion for psychology” in the same way that his high school psychology teacher inspired him. He predicts that his toughest challenge this year will be teaching “the tougher subjects in psychology in a way that students can learn effectively.”

Dr. Fisher also hopes to use his background in psychology to start a new mental performance program at Pingry. The program would offer mental performance training in order to have students working at their best and most confident levels. Explaining his motivation behind the program, Dr. Fisher said, “I want to learn more about the culture at Pingry and then add to that culture in some way.”

In his free time, Dr. Fisher enjoys a multitude of outdoor activities, including mountain biking, skiing, hiking, and tennis. He is a parent to two sons, aged two and three.

Dr. Fisher is very excited to teach at Pingry and is ready to inspire students to pursue their passions.

This year, Ms. Susan Conklin joins the Pingry Upper School as the new Academic Support Coordinator and Learning Specialist. In describing her role, Ms. Conklin said, “When an aspect of academic rigor poses a challenge to learning, a learning specialist problem solves strategies for students to achieve at a higher academic level.”

Ms. Conklin received her B.A. from the City College of New York, her M.S.W. from the Hunter College School of Social Work, and her Ed.S. in Language and Literacy from Simmons College.

Prior to joining Pingry, Ms. Conklin worked as a Learning Specialist in several different schools, both public and private, and was a psychotherapist in private practice.

When asked about her first impressions of Pingry, Ms. Conklin commented, “I loved it from the second I got a phone call asking me to interview for this position. I love the students and faculty, and am energized by the four pillars of education the school holds: diversity and inclusion, intellectual engagement, sustainability, and honor. When people live by these four pillars, we sculpt ourselves into the finest human beings on the planet.”

In her free time, Ms. Conklin enjoys reading, sailing, traveling, socializing with her friends, and going to the Bugliari Athletic Center. In October, she will be attending the teacher workshops at Comic Con in New York because she knows “some students enjoy reading graphic novels for pleasure, but there are also many themes represented in this growing genre which include significant academic material.”

Ms. Conklin is most excited to live the Pingry life. “I love that students and faculty are intensely involved in all aspects of whatever they are learning and teaching as we grow together,” she said. “People here are prompt, engaged, respectful, kind, and happy, so who wouldn’t want to work at a place like that?”

When asked about her goals for the school year, Ms. Conklin replied, “To get to know the specific learning challenges of the students at Pingry. All pathways to learning are valid.”

When asked what obstacles she might encounter, Ms. Conklin said, “Keeping up with the pace of all of the wonderful ways to contribute to this community. But I’m encouraged; I’m just going to ‘drive’ like a New Jersey driver—with speed, agility, and presence of mind!”

Ms. Conklin is delighted to be a part of the Pingry community. “I am happy to be here everyday, and I hope everyone else is too!” she said.

This fall, Ms. Olivia Tandon joined the Upper School Science Department to teach Biology I, Biology II, and AP Biology. Previously, Ms. Tandon taught at New York City public schools for two years, at a charter school in the South Bronx for one year, and at Poly Prep in Brooklyn for four years.

Ever since she was a child, Ms. Tandon has always been interested in nature. She grew up playing outside and collecting all kinds of insects, rocks, and other natural treasures. Gradually, she began to develop her love of the natural world. She understood that it is often not valued enough, resulting in numerous environmental issues threatening the insects, frogs, and plants that she had always loved to collect. Later, during graduate school, Ms. Tandon took classes in geology and paleontology through which she rediscovered her passion for these subjects.

For her undergraduate degree, Ms. Tandon attended Columbia University, where she double majored in Environmental Biology and Creative Writing.

Ms. Tandon then became interested in teaching. She started her teaching career in NYC public schools as part of the NYC Teaching Fellows and simultaneously received a Master of Earth Science Education from Brooklyn College. Last year, Ms. Tandon took some time off from teaching to pursue her second master’s degree in Private School Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Because Ms. Tandon’s father was a professor, teaching was an important part of her life growing up. Throughout her school years, she had met several incredible teachers who also inspired her to pursue a career in education. Also, she explained that her students at the public schools where she previously taught had instilled a love of teaching in her.

Initially, she planned on teaching at the NYC Teaching Fellows for around two years and then returning to graduate school to pursue an academic or nonprofit research career. In the end, however, Ms. Tandon “fell in love with teaching and wasn’t ready to quit after my commitment with the Teaching Fellows was up!”

When asked how she likes Pingry so far, Ms. Tandon referred to Pingry as an “incredibly welcoming place” and is happy that Pingry has already embraced the chicken coop. She is excited to work with fellow colleagues to build the Pingry farm over the next few years. She will also be coaching squash in the winter season.

Having recently moved from New York City, Ms. Tandon is excited to be able to hike and garden more, “both of which I can now do right in my own backyard and neighborhood, rather than having to travel miles away.” She also has two border collies, Archie and Finn. Archie, who has been trained in agility and flyball for many years, might come to the Pingry farm in the future and work as a herding dog!

Ms. Tandon is looking forward to a wonderful school year and continuing to get to know the Pingry community.