Selena Gell
Photo by Donessa Colley
As a new school year starts, new students and faculty alike are becoming accustomed to Choate’s academic and social environment. Dr. Selena Gell is one of these new faculty members, teaching Biology Honors, and several other biology electives, along with coaching the Boys’ Water Polo team.
After earning her B.S. from Brandeis University and her Ph.D. from Brown University, Dr. Gell became a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School, which placed her on track to eventually head her own lab However, as she was completing her fellowship, she decided that she wanted to teach science instead.
Dr. Gell was attracted to Choate because of its community. She said, “When I interviewed here, I was very impressed with the community, which valued diversity and welcomed lots of individuals from different backgrounds.” Furthermore, she was very impressed by the faculty that she met, as they “cared tremendously about both their own fields and about their students.”
Dr. Gell delights in outdoor activities, including hiking, biking, and camping, as well as cooking. She played rugby for 12 years in college and in various recreational teams after. Dr. Gell says she loves trying new things, especially experiencing new cultures.
After her first few weeks at Choate, Dr. Gell is most excited about her classes. She commented, “The students here are really exceptional, especially in how hard they work.” She is looking forward to challenging her students.
-Ariel Kim’20
Mustafa Abdul-Rahim
Photo courtesy of
Ross Mertensen
Engineer, coach, and world-class athlete, Mr. Mus
tafa Abdul-Rahim has joined the Choate community this year to teach Geometry and Fundamentals of Calculus.
Mr. Abdul-Rahim hails from Boston, Massachusetts. He spent the last few years coaching track and field at other boarding schools, including Phillips Exeter and Milton Academy. He also coached at colleges as well, including Southern Connecticut State University. Mr. Rahim is a decorated decathlete and heptathlon, competing in national and international tournaments and participating in the Olympic trials twice.
While competing competing in athletics, Mr. Rahim studied at Dartmouth College, earning a A.B. in Engineering and an M.A. in engineering management.
He then decided to become a teacher. He said, “I just felt like I had done a lot before this, and I continued to feel like I needed more and wanted more. I felt like being around the students that were also striving to get more out of themselves was the right place. I had a feeling that teaching would be right.” Mr. Rahim described boarding school as “one of the most complete settings that you can really put yourself into. Being at Choate is a plus; it is one of the best places to be in the boarding school setting.”
He reflected, “I think a teacher is someone who facilitates learning, regardless of the subject, and I think would have been a teacher of some sort.”
-Aidan Marzeotti ’20
Sofie Pontes
Photo by Michael Li
Before classes began, when faculty where rushing to prepare for classes, Facilities was mowing the lawns, and students and their families were lugging all that gear into their dorm rooms, new English teacher Ms. Sofia Pontes was nowhere to be seen. A vacation already? Nope, Ms. Pontes was getting married.
Ms. Pontes is enjoying the positive energy on campus. When asked about her hopes for her time at Choate, she said, “I hope to find a balance between working on teaching and growing as a mentor and adviser and to fill both roles as best as I can.”
She eagerly anticipates getting involved in the student community. She is an adviser in Bernhard House. “I really like the energy of a large girls’ dorm,” she remarks. “Duty is always interesting and exciting; you’re having lots of conversations. I think that as an adviser, you have more of an impact.”
Ms. Pontes grew up in Tuscan, Arizona. She earned her master’s degree in comparative literature at Rutgers University, and was also a Teaching Assistant. Last year, she taught at Phillips Academy Andover, and this summer, she taught at Choate Summer Programs. She loves the boarding school environment because students are, “driven in multiple areas––not just in the classroom but in sports and extracurricular activities as well.” She notes, “It’s exciting for me to be part of that energy and to see the kids in my classrooms in different arenas.”
-Angelina Heyler ’18
Yuxin Xie
Photo by Jeanne Malle
New Chemistry teacher and Boys’ Crew coach Ms. Yuxin Xie has wanted to teach since elementary school.
Ms. Xie was born in China and spent her childhood traveling, because her dad had numerous jobs on the East Coast. She has lived in New Jersey, Boston, and Cambridge, where she attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and majored in Chemistry. She then received her a Masters degree in Organic Chemistry from The University of Chicago.
She remarked, “I enjoyed doing research, and I spent most of my life wanting to be a professor. However, I found out that being a professor isn’t doing research—it’s writing grants and going to conferences, which I didn’t enjoy.”
Because she enjoyed being a teaching assistant in college, she decided to become a private tutor, which later encouraged her to become a teacher.
Choate particularly attracted her with its prestigious academics and unique opportunities provided to students. Additionally, she appreciated how Choate encourages a “balance of academics and extracurricular activities” because when she was in high school, she experienced an academically competitive environment in which the pursuit of non-academic interests was not encouraged.
Ms. Xie hopes to encourage students to pursue their own interests. She concluded, “Everyone here is super nice and positive.” In her free time, she likes to collect a variety of office stationary and dabble in calligraphy.
-Eliana Kim ’20
Ashley Bairos
Photo courtesy of Choate Rosemary Hall
Former professional hockey player, new science teacher and Choate alum Ms. Ashley Bairos ’06 has moved to Wallingford to teach science. Originally from Sherman Oaks, California, Ms. Bairos teaches Physics and Marine Sciences and coaches JV Girls’ Volleyball and Varsity Girls’ Hockey this year.
Ms. Bairos previously worked at Thayer Academy, in Braintree, Massachusetts for two years. She also worked at the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid, NY. She also has worked as a teacher in the Choate Summer program for the past eight years. Ms. Bairos said, “I knew that I wanted to be back at a boarding school as a teacher because I like hanging out on dorm duty and having that interaction with students, and I wanted to be teaching high level academics at a really good place.” Ms. Bairos majored in environmental science and architecture at Middlebury College and earned her MS in Environmental Science at Green Mountain College.
After college, Ms. Bairos moved to Sweden to play hockey. “I took some time off because I never got to travel when I was a student at Choate or at Middlebury because of hockey,” Ms. Bairos explained. “I really enjoy facilitating whatever kids are interested in and supporting them on the field, in their classes, at an arts performance. I find that truly rewarding,” she added. Ms. Bairos can be found in Memorial house with her dog, Scout.
-Kate Spencer ’20
