Do you know who your academy director is?

If you don’t know by now, read on and find out!

Alexa Juarez, Cielo Ugarte, Danna Gallegos, Jasmin Gallegos, and Helen Nguyen

September 24, 2024

Ms. Westfall

Ms. Jane Westfall is the director of the Academy of Health and Healthy Communities (AHHC), and has been teaching at Hoover for eight years.

Ms. Westfall was born and raised in Ocean Beach, here in San Diego. When she was younger, she wanted to be a scientist out in the environment and she did that for a year and a half until she eventually realized she wanted to be around young people. She left field work behind because it was clear how lonely and isolated it was and signed up for a teaching credential program. Her first year of student teaching was here at Hoover and she fell in love with this school and plans to teach here forever if possible.

During her vacations she loves to travel (if she can) and her favorite way of traveling are road trips. On a weekend basis, she likes to spend her free time reading, cooking, walking her dogs, and likes to go swimming in the ocean. She has a single older brother, her mom is a teacher (she was sort of her inspiration for teaching), and she describes her dad as the most brilliant person she’s ever met and the reason she fell in love with science.

One of her favorite childhood memories was meeting her best friend in fourth grade who, to this day, continues to be like a sister to her.

Ms. Westfall likes to refer to the quote “May each tomorrow find you farther than today,” by Henry Longfellow.

Mr. Heu

Mr. Michael Heu is the ALMA academy director here at Hoover High School and also oversees the yearbook, theater and The Cardinal news website.

Mr. Heu has been teaching at Hoover for 19 years and really enjoys teaching here because it’s fun and he likes the people he works with. Photography has always been a big part of his life and he initially started off as an English teacher but then the yearbook teacher left and they asked him to take it over, so he did. Since then, he’s enjoyed coming into work and being the teacher for both yearbook and theater because he experiences new and different things all the time. Mr. Heu has had so many memorable experiences at Hoover like the time that he was a part of a break dancing group and there was a hip hop battle in the old theater and people from all around San Diego County came and competed against each other.

A part from his life as a teacher at Hoover, Mr. Heu has a pretty chill home life (for the most part). His parents are from Hawaii; his mother is Hawaiian and his father is Chinese. He is also a person with many interests. Like, taking his rescue dog Cako on walks and taking her to dog friendly places such as Balboa South and buying her her own little meals. He loves eating out because he hates doing dishes. He also enjoys reading and writing in his free time since it isn’t really something he can do at work.

Then there are things he doesn’t like which surprisingly are crowds. He’s a bit of a hybrid introverted and extroverted person who enjoys his peace and going to the beach with his dog. Overall he’s a nurturing, silly, caring, and most of all, funny sarcastic person who would be a great person to get to know while being here at Hoover. Next time you see him, be sure to say hello.

Ms. Towers

Ms. Towers is the current AOIT director for the 2024-2025 school year, and has been a teacher at Hoover for over 20 years.

Not only is she an academy director but she also created the academy back in 2003 with the first graduating class of 2005. Ms. Towers established the academy system to create a more cohesive teaching environment. Her goals for this upcoming school year is to get more support for the AOIT academy from business and industry organizations. She also wants to ensure that as many as possible APUSH students pass the AP test. Her most memorable moment from her time at Hoover is when 76% of her students passed the APUSH exam last year.

Ms. Towers felt inspired to become a teacher when she observed that teachers didn’t really work as a team so she wanted to create an environment where they could work together instead of individually. If she wasn’t a teacher, she’d pursue a career as an entrepreneur.

Outside of her professional life, Ms. Towers enjoys listening to Cat Stevens and her favorite song being “Tea For The Tillerman.” One thing you might be surprised to find out she’s not as intimidating as she appears, think of her as a “chocolate covered marshmallow.”

Ms. Riego

Ms. Kristiana Reigo De Dios is not only an English teacher but the SABE academy director.

The Sustainable Academy of Building and Engineering is special to her because it offers students another pathway to have a successful future besides college, like the possibility of attending trade school. Her favorite aspect of SABE is the hands-on field trips which provide real world experiences for those interested in construction or engineering. She recalls the time students went on a field trip to SDUS before new dorms were built and were able to tour the area.

Her favorite thing about being a teacher is the rapport she builds with her students, especially when she is able to see their understanding and the lightbulb go off. She also loves seeing her students succeed outside of academics like in clubs or sports. She was inspired to be a high school teacher by her father who was one as well. She liked seeing his relationship with his students, and seeing them recognize him even years later, and the impact he had on them.

Ms. Reigo’s favorite thing about Hoover is the community showing up for each other.

She loves how willing her fellow teachers are to help and show up for their students. Outside of school she enjoys reading, going to Disneyland and paddle boarding.

It is important for her to encourage her students to always try. Anyone who has paid a visit to her classroom knows how much of a welcoming space it is and she wants her students to know that they are not alone.

“Don’t be afraid to challenge yourselves,” expresses Ms. Reigo.

Mr. Pores

Mr. Aaron Pores is the Social Justice Academy director and is also in charge of peer tutoring. Mr. Pores is in his fifth year at Hoover High School.

In SJA, Mr. Pores teaches ELD (English Language Development) and supervises a group of tutors. The purpose of students being in it is so they are able to be further educated to learn and understand their place and identity, help them understand who they are as a person, and to help them understand the leadership role to be leaders in their own classrooms. Before Mr. Pores became the director, he was working as an ALD teacher and was doing a lot to help tutors. He coordinated with other teachers and it allowed him to be creative and plan big events such as the Peace Awards where students get some recognition for their efforts. He looks forward to it again, holding the Peace Awards, bringing everyone in the academy together and receiving positive feedback, going on field trips, and meeting new people.

In the beginning of this school year, Mr. Pores has had his days, difficulties, and personal changes but that didn’t stop him from being a hard worker. Despite how rough it could’ve been to show up to work, he continues to push through it all, and stays positive. It was refreshing to him that the school has hired better administration.

He enjoys being a social justice academy director, an ELD teacher, and in general, just doing what he does. This is because he has found his passion and happiness in receiving positive energies from his students, knowing that he is able to teach his students something they’d remember and value, watch them grow and be able to graduate. He also loves the company of his previous students telling him how much they’ve learned from him.

His two important quotes, “It’s better to die on your feet than to live your life on your knees.” and to “begin within,” meaning you have to start with yourself, and make yourself a good person to have a positive impact on the world.

About the Contributors

Alexa Juarez, Staff Writer

Alexa is a 16 year old junior attending Hoover High School for the 2024 to 2025 school year.

Some of her favorite colors are pink, green, and black, but to be honest she likes almost every color. She likes to listen to music while doing her school work and she absolutely loves to read, especially horror or thriller novels. Her all time favorite movies are definitely all the Harry Potter movies, all the Despicable Me movies, A House With a Clock in its Walls, and The Corpse Bride; among many others. One of her main goals for this first school semester is to put all of her effort into her classes and get straight A’s.

Alexa’s favorite foods are seafood and literally any type of pasta, and she also loves ice cream, iced coffee, matcha, and chocolate cake. She likes to go on night walks and spend time in the park with her mom. Her absolute favorite place to go to is the beach and she loves to go swimming, either in a pool or in the ocean.

Alexa is very, very interested in going to college after high school to study psychology and become a therapist for either teenagers or adults.

Cielo Ugarte, Staff Writer

Cielo Ugarte is a senior in the former ALMA academy, VAPA, at Hoover High School. She was born in December and is the youngest of two siblings. She wants to attend community college for two years then hopefully transfer out to UCSD but she still isn’t sure what she wants to major in. She’s currently thinking about majoring in business administration but isn’t exactly sure yet. All she knows is that she wants a job that’ll put her social skills to work. Cielo is part of a big extended family because her grandma had 16 kids. She lives with her mom, dad, brother, aunt, and two dogs, Mimi and Mochi. She wants to learn French, Italian and continue learning sign language so she can be able to communicate with people who are mute. She enjoys listening to music in her free time and also likes to watch movies to kill time. She enjoys listening to any genre of music that isn’t k-pop, country, rock, or heavy metal. She enjoys singing and she also plays the flute. She was a part of the Hoover Cardinal’s Marching Band and played the flute there too. She’s been playing the flute for almost three years now and really enjoys it. Cielo is a very social person who can talk to pretty much anyone but also doesn’t like public speaking or presentations because she has a bit of stage fright. She’s an honest and caring person who always tries to help out the people around her. She likes helping out her friends whenever they may need it.

Danna Gallegos, Staff Writer

Danna Gallegos is currently a 15 year old junior at Hoover High School for the 2024-2025 school year and is in the AHHC academy. She has two siblings; an older brother and a younger sister. She was born and raised in San Diego.

Her grades are really important to her. She hopes to get straight A’s this year so she can be closer to her goal of graduating in white. She wants to make her parents proud. Danna has four pets, two which are cats, another a border collie dog and a horse. In her free time she enjoys going to softball practice and socializing with her friends outside of school.

Her favorite colors are green and purple. Her favorite show is The 100 which she's rewatched about three times already. She enjoys listening to music with her favorite song being "Let You Go" by Clara La San. Her biggest phobia is clowns, but not normal clowns, creepy clowns.

When she graduates she plans on going to a state school, she doesn't know which yet and plans on becoming a travel nurse. After she graduates she wants to travel around the world, she plans on going to Italy before it sinks.

Jasmin Gallegos, Senior Writer

Jasmin Gallegos is 17 years old and a senior in the former ALMA academy, VAPA, at Hoover High School. This school year, Jasmin wants to prioritize her grades while also having fun during her final year of high school. Her biggest goal is to graduate with the best GPA she can. She is excited to go to college and move away from San Diego. Although she will miss her family, she wants to be more independent and try new things. Jasmin is planning on becoming an elementary school teacher which has been her goal since she was a little girl. She hopes to make a good impact on the children and be a positive influence. Her favorite subject in school is history, she loves seeing how things used to work back then and how things have changed. Jasmin’s favorite pastime is watching movies. Her favorite movie is Corpse Bride, she loves the animation and storyline. She doesn’t have a favorite movie genre but she typically watches romantic comedies or musicals. She loves going to the movies with her sister and seeing films on the big screen. Two years ago Jasmin adopted an orange kitten she named Loki. He used to be shy but now he's just clingy. She loves how cuddly he gets when he is cold. She also has a fish named Guppy, who is almost ten years old.

Helen Nguyen, Staff Writer

Helen Nguyen is currently a sophomore at Hoover High during the 24-25 school year for her education.

When she graduates, she looks forward to attending a community college for her first few years then transferring into a university. She has hopes of becoming a future nurse. She’s always had social anxiety and she has always been anti-social. Though, she is learning to be comfortable around others and learning how to be more open. She’s working on getting out of her comfort zone and letting herself loose.

Some things about Helen, She has an older brother who also attended Hoover High and graduated as class of 23’ as being a part of the ALMA academy. Now, she herself is also in the ALMA academy as a class of 27’. She loves going out, hanging around friends, spending time with family, and she enjoys playing badminton. She dislikes being in crowded areas with loud noises, she fears spiders and bugs, and summer has never really been her season, she hates the mosquitoes.

The majority of her family was born and raised in Vietnam, this includes her brother. She states that when they moved here to San Diego, it made her the only family member to be born and raised apart from Vietnam. Her family moved here to San Diego because it was easier for them to make a living and provide. Since the covid pandemic, she’s sad to haven’t been able to go back to Vietnam to visit her other family members. She hopes to be able to travel again soon.