In the 2024-2025 school year Haylen Gonzalez-Pita will begin her new role as the AHS librarian.

Haylen Gonzalez-Pita has been a science teacher for seven years. You may know her as the environmental activist and teacher of Biology I, and IB Environmental Systems and Societies, for so many Gonzalez-Pita is a beloved figure at AHS. In the 2024-2025 school year Gonzalez-Pita’s role will shift to librarian, a role that has always been in the back of her mind. When Haylen was just a student at AHS, her school librarian Lauren Cassatt had a long-term impact on her.

Gonzalez-Pita fondly remembers her as a steady presence at AHS; in her new chapter, Gonzalez-Pita hopes to do her justice. Nonetheless, she has her reasons for making this shift, and though the news may have come as a surprise to many of her students, her presence in the building will not be lost.

“How can I pull in community resources, one of them being sustainability, but also help teachers… I hope I can help teachers make those connections in the community to, bring some [environmental relevance] to their class,” Gonzalez-Pita said.

Gonzalez-Pita brought the IB Environmental Systems and Societies class to AHS and built it up. Her passions for teaching and sustainability perfectly mesh with this environmental science class.

“There’s a sense of guilt that I’m leaving you guys because I do really really like that class and I really like you guys,” GonzalezPita said.

Gonzalez-Pita also comes from a long line of teachers (almost her entire immediate family has a teaching background), so making the shift to librarian a huge change. Like all change, along with the excitement of new opportunities, there are anxieties, fears, and uncertainties.

“I’ll miss my colleagues… I’m still gonna see them, but it’s a different dynamic when you don’t work so closely with them every day. I really love my department,” Gonzalez-Pita said.

Gonzalez-Pita values the connection that she has right now within her department, but the connections she builds and the conversations she has with her students make leaving her position as a teacher even harder.

“I’m a little nervous that I won’t have as deep of a connection with the student body that I currently have. So come visit me in the library,” Gonzalez-Pita said.