With the need to fill empty positions, the department has added  more educators to its staff this year, including three new science teachers.

Ryan Rodriguez
The new Biology and Pre-AP Biology, Rodriguez recently graduated from UT with a Bachelors of Arts in Biology. He grew up in San Antonio and graduated from Southwest High School in 2010.

Q: Why do you like teaching Biology?
A: It’s a fun subject, it’s looking at life on a very small scale, I told all my students coming in that I hated science; when I started high school I hated science, but I had an awesome Biology teacher and awesome chemistry teacher and that’s what kinda swayed me, getting me to love science and learning it in college.

Q: What do you like so far about Cedar Park High School or the community in general?
A: I love the community that we have, my high school wasn’t very tight, you had your groups, band groups and everything. I was friends with everybody, but I love how it’s a tight knit group and all the involvement and support of the parents, I really love that. It’s a great school to be a part of. Great academics and athletics, it’s just a great place to be at.

Q: If you could have a superpower what would it be?
A: Flight, my superhero is Superman so I’d have to say flight.

Q: Do you have a favorite student already?
A: I have a few, but they’re right at the end of my day, one on A day and one on B day, which is great because when you’re a teacher, you teach the same thing, all day everyday and it gets repetitive, but one of them really wants to interact and wants to learn more, it’s not just that they’re funny, which they are, but they are taking a liking to the content, that’s what makes them my favorite students.

Nancy Matthias
She has recently moved down from Indiana due to her husband getting a new job in Austin. She is currently teaching AP Anatomy and Physiology in the S building.

Q: How do you like Cedar Park so far?
A: I really like it, the kids are very polite and very hardworking, they’re a lot different from my inner-city school that I came from. I love Friday Night Football, how everybody gets into it, the dancers and cheerleaders, lots of school spirit.

Q: If you could have any superpower what would it be?
A: I would like to read minds. Because then I would know if students understood what was going on, I’d have to ignore all the other thoughts, but that way I’d have a way to communicate with them in a better way.

Gabbi Fraychineaud (fray-sha-no)
She grew up in Illinois and graduated with a degree in Biology Secondary Education from Bradley University. After graduation, she started teaching and working towards her masters degree, after three years, she moved to Los Angeles and completed her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction.

Q: Why do you like teaching Biology?
A: I love teaching Biology because I feel it’s really applicable to life, you can talk about gross things and get away with it and have fun with it. I really like it because it is our lives and everything around us; we connect it to everything that happens in our daily adventures.

Q: If you could be an animal, what would you be?
A: An Elephant, because they’re the coolest animals. I think we could learn from them, for example, when there’s a herd and a calf is born, the herd will take in the calf and will accept it into their own families if the calf’s mother has passed. They won’t leave it to die. 

Q: What extracurricular activities were you in in high school?
A: In high school, I ran track and field along with karate. I have a black belt, I had no choice, my dad wouldn’t let me quit until I had a black belt. I’m really glad though that he made me go through with it, I learned a lot from it, made good friends, and now I know how to defend myself.