GRADUATION

Stephanie Hill has taught beginning through AP French since 2012 at Glacier High School in Kalispell, Montana, where she has created and advised the school’s French Club and La Société Honoraire de Français, coadvised its Gay Straight Alliance, initiated schoolwide participation in International Education Week, and coordinated international activities and social media communications for the school and district. Under her leadership, Glacier High’s French program has been recognized as exemplary by the American Association of Teachers of French every year since 2016. Hill is also an adjunct professor of French at Flathead Valley Community College, codirector of the Kalispell Educator Excellence Program, and a French teacher for Montana Digital Academy. Previously she taught French for three years at middle schools in Janesville, Wisconsin. Honored as the Kalispell Education Foundation’s 2023 High School Teacher of the Year, Hill has been named a Northwest Montana Co-op Extra Mile Educator and one of Varsity Brands’ top 10 most spirited teachers in the nation. “When I sat down for my first college-level French class, I knew I would be OK because Madame Hill had prepared me for college and (more importantly) life,” says student nominator Simon Roston of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. Hill received a BA in French from St. Norbert College and an MEd in curriculum and instruction from the University of Montana, both summa cum laude.

Rita Thompson has taught English, social studies, and legal studies courses since 1997 at Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, where she founded the Reading Center and helped design the district’s law pathway dual-credit course with Eastern Illinois University. At Elk Grove High she has led professional development sessions, served on numerous committees, coached and sponsored the Mock Trial Team and the Shakespeare Slam, and won a national title as coach of the Lincoln Douglas Debate Team. Previously she was active as a member of the Illinois Bar. A repeat winner of District 214’s Outstanding Contribution to Education Award, she also won the Elk Grove High School Principal’s Award, the district’s Special Recognition Award, and an Illinois State Board of Education Those Who Excel Award of Meritorious Service. Thompson “believed in me when no one else did, not even myself,” says student nominator Kaylyn Ahn of the School of Education and Social Policy. “Because of her investment in me and the students around me, we were able to think of a future past high school.” A national board-certified teacher of English, Thompson received a BA in English with honors from the University of Michigan, a JD from the University of Illinois, an MSEd in secondary education from Northwestern University, and an MSEd in literacy education from Northern Illinois University.