Science Teacher Ms. Rowena Schenck, a Penn fellow, joined Deerfield in the fall of 2020. She taught Chemistry 1 and AP Seminar: H2O & Food Systems, lived as a dorm resident in Mods and was an associate of Johnson her first year, and was an assistant coach of the Varsity Alpine Skiing and JV Girls Lacrosse teams.
Carson Belaire ’23, her student in the MODS, said, “She’s super caring and down-to-earth and she’s always willing to take time out of her day, especially during the nights she’s on duty, just to hang out and chill with the MODS boys. She obviously has the greatest feeds, and she always has something to talk to us about…We’re going to miss her a lot—there’s no doubt about it.”
Although 2020 was a “crazy and wild year to start teaching,” according to Ms. Schenck, she enjoyed her experience at Deerfield, especially the school spirit. She commented that leaving Deerfield is a bittersweet moment. Ms. Schenck will miss the students, the friendships she established with faculty members, especially working with Mr. Toby Emerson, a Science Teacher who is also Ms. Schenck’s mentor for the Penn program. Recently, Ms. Schenck received her master’s degree on May 14. Moving forward, Ms. Schenck will continue to teach chemistry at Phillips Academy Andover.