Rylee Strunk – 9
When walking through the math hallway, students and staff may see a smiling face, Miss Heckman, one of several math teachers at the high school. A graduate of Hamburg Area High School, Miss Heckman went to Millersville University for her bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education Mathematics and Kutztown University for her master in Curriculum and Instruction. She also has an additional 27 credits beyond her masters degree.
Miss Heckman has been teaching for a total of 30 years. She did one year of substitute teaching, spent 11 years teaching at Oley Valley High School, and has been at Hamburg for 18 years. She teaches Algebra 2, Algebra 2 Post Secondary, and Honors Algebra 2. Her favorite part of teaching is when she can “see in a student’s eyes that they can understand something they didn’t see before,” said Miss Heckman. Lots of students love how well she teaches because she is very good at explaining how to do something and is also always willing to help if they do not understand a math problem.
Miss Heckman runs the jigsaw club and the Math Honor Society, in addition to being chair of the math department. In her free time she loves doing 1000 piece puzzles, traveling to new places, cooking new recipes, baking with her niece, and spending time with her loved ones. Miss Heckman has been to 20 of the US states and hopes to get to all 50 of them.
