Every year, hundreds of new students attend Panther Creek High School. As well as students, the school also gets a large addition of new staff members. Unless you have a class with these teachers, you might not know much about them. Who are these new Catamount leaders?

Ms. Ayesh

Ms. Ayesh teaches Special Topics in Mathematics to freshmen and Advanced Functions and Modeling (AFM) to upperclassmen. She went to Meredith College in Raleigh and earned two Bachelor’s degrees in both mathematics and Spanish, in addition to minoring in statistics.  Before working at Panther Creek, Ms. Ayesh was teaching math abroad in Spain and Jordan. She has been to places around the world as well as here in the Triangle. She was born in Durham, grew up in Cary, and is currently living in Apex.

Mrs. Kilmer

Originally from Ohio, Mrs. Kilmer moved here for the great teaching opportunities. She teachers honors and Advanced Placement courses in both chemistry and earth science. Her students might not know that she was a registered medical technologist in a large hospital working in hematology and microbiology for seven years. When asked why she wanted to become a teacher she stated, “I loved working with the residence at the hospital and teaching them what was going on; I loved that job, and I love teaching.” She then had a career change and went back to school and got a teaching degree at North Carolina State University. Before working at Panther Creek, Mrs. Kilmer  worked at another high school in wake county for thirteen years. She took the job at Panther Creek because there was an opening for an AP chemistry class, and teaching that subject is her passion. She has a Bachelors in applied science and technology, a teaching degree from NC State, and a Bachelor’s in chemistry also from NC State.

Mrs. Tiller

Mrs. Tiller currently teaches Spanish I and Spanish III and will be teaching Spanish II next semester. She is a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, which is one of the most prestigious awards in North Carolina. The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program is dedicated to recruiting high school graduates and help them develop leadership qualities. Mrs. Tiller was born in Michigan but grew up in Wake County. Before teaching at Panther Creek, Mrs. Tiller graduated from Campbell University with a degree in Spanish with teacher licensure. She is also licensed to teach English as a Second Language. She knew she wanted to work at Panther Creek after her student teaching she completed last fall. She said that this is an exceptional school with a devoted staff and fantastic students.

Mr. Sichak

Mr. Sichak has been to four different universities in both Pennsylvania and Virginia. He started his undergraduate at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia when he was injured during wrestling. He then transferred to Slippery Rock University inPennsylvania for two years until they dropped their wrestling program. He finished at the University of Pittsburgh with Bachelor’s degrees in history, political science, and geography. He also graduated with his masters of education from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Before coming to Panther Creek, Mr. Sichak grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, which he told us is about seventy miles east of Pittsburgh, where he attended a small public high school. He taught at Forest Hills Middle School in Wilson County for three years and Reedy Creek Middle School in Wake County for the past two years. At Panther Creek, he teaches world history, honors law and justice, honors psychology, and religions in world cultures.

As you can see, there are a lot more to new teachers than the eye can see. These new teachers have a lot to offer Panther Creek students, and are a great addition to our school’s faculty. Be sure to say hello throughout the year to these new teachers to meet and learn more about them!