By definition, a homecoming is a “returning home,” but for some members of Brea Olinda High School’s faculty, they are home, as both alumnus and current teachers on the very campus they once, well, celebrated Homecoming.
One thing each of the alums agree on is how nostalgia-triggering it is to teach on the same campus they once roamed as students.
History teacher Kate Caprine, BOHS Class of 2002, has fond memories of varsity soccer and spending time with friends at school events.
Kara Dietz, Class of 1993, participated in Advanced Dance and Color Guard, but it’s the memories she made with friends at Mr. Brea, dances, and Grad Night she enjoys the most, and experiences she hopes to replicate for the students in her Link Crew and Skills for Living classes.
Member of the Class of 2001, Marcy Hail, Culinary Arts teacher, could be found most afternoons at the Wildcat pool as a member of varsity water polo and swim. (And possibly flirting with the boys: The senior class voted Hail “Most Flirtatious” in 2001.)
The youngest of the alums, Amanda Huson, Class of 2009, has come full-circle: Once a California Scholarship Federation (CSF) Sealbearer, Huson is now the adviser of the club that celebrates academic excellence.
Summer Teal, Class of 1992, has a favorite memory: “Blackout Day,” an occasion when students wore suits and funeral veils while carrying a coffin in the quad to honor BOHS’s historic rivalry with Sonora High School. But larger than that singular memory is Teal’s mission to create safe spaces for students experiencing similar struggles she once faced in high school.
Johnpaul Wilson, Class of 2007, is also experiencing a full-circle moment: A former forward and winger on the boys’ CIF semi-finalist varsity soccer team, Wilson now leads varsity boys’ soccer as head coach on the same Wildcat Stadium field he once scored goals on.
Click each of the rows below to learn more about BOHS’s teacher alums, and about their favorite Homecoming Week memories.
