The True Heroes

We live in a world that seems to worship its own kind of greatness and produce its own kind of

heroes. When I was a kid, I had my heroes:

Batman, Spiderman and Superman. I

remember some of their adventures and

how they fought against criminals such as

the Joker and Venom, looking for justice and

overcoming the most amazing challenges.

Those superheroes were able to solve any

problem and shortcoming no matter the

circumstance. They were fearless, strong,

smart and skilled. I still remember how

much I admired them — they sought

for excitement and perfection, pushing

themselves to the absolute peak of

human achievement.

Years passed and I started middle school. In

my teenage years, my perception of heroes

changed from supernatural characters,

products of a good imagination and special

effects, to ordinary people who achieved

fame. My new heroes were athletes like

Mohamed Ali, Pele, Michael Jordan and

Nadia Comaneci; artists like Mozart, the

Beatles; and scientists like Isaac Newton

and Albert Einstein.

When I started high school, I changed gears

again and my heroes became ordinary

people who faced real life enemies and

challenges; people like Winston Churchill,

Joan of Arc, Mahatma Gandhi, Queen

Elizabeth, Helen Keller, and Mother

Theresa. I learned about their inspiring

lives and I was intrigued by the way they

molded themselves through trials and

opposition, ending their lives with a legacy

of wisdom and good deeds that impacted

the world.

In college I became concerned with the fact

that my friends and I hadn’t achieved what

others had achieved, and as a consequence

I felt that we were failing. Each of us desired

to achieve a measure of importance in this

life. Why shouldn’t we? But I came to realize

that many of the people who achieve

worldly fame and fortune once in their lives

are temporary heroes, while those who

impact the world through real change are

remembered for a long period of time.

It took me many years and my devotion as a

parent and as a professional to find out

who the true heroes are. The true heroes

work harder than what we can see. They

wear lots of hats and make many decisions

every day, and sometimes they make

mistakes. They are not the richest of all the

workers. They spend countless extra hours

of labor without remuneration and have

many sleepless nights figuring out how to

do their job. Most of the time, they end up

forgetting about themselves. The true

heroes are the parents who impact the

world every day with innumerable small

deeds that shape the lives of their children;

and finally, one day, they will ultimately see

the results of their labors when their life-

long disciples become new parents.

At the American Academy of Innovation,

we also have other heroes, they are the

teachers and staff who will strive to prepare

the future heroes of the new generation.

AAI TODAYVOLUME 4 | June 20, 2016 | aaiutah.org | facebook.com/AAIUtah

Director’s Messageby German Lopez, AAI Director

Art Exploration

Advanced Art

Team Sports

Lifetime Fitness

Recreational Physical Education

Sports Psychology

Computer Tech

Creative Writing

Stories on the Big Screen

Indoor Farming

Animal Science

Food Science

Happiness (Positive Psychology)

Computer Programming

Financial Freedom

Mysterious Universe (Astronomy)

3D Modeling/Animation

Photography

More to come!

Electives!

2

We’re excited to have an initial list of Elective Classes that will be offered by the teachers at AAI. This list will be changed if necessary

based on the final needs of our students

We’re happy to report that building

construction is on schedule! We’re starting

finish work this week including siding on

the outside and sheetrock inside. More

road work surrounding the school will be

done in the next few weeks. Stop by and

take a look when you get a chance:

5410 West South Jordan Parkway

Building Update

MARSHEL TROOP

6TH GRADE

I am Marshel Troop, often known to my

students as Mr. Marshel. My journey to

AAI is a long and unusual one. I grew up

in the Salt Lake City area. At the age of

9, I figured out that I could sing. I sang

in choirs, church, musicals and soon got

involved in theatre. I attended Dixie State

on a theatre scholarship and transferred

to SUU to complete my B.S. in FACS

(home economics). I was the only guy in

the whole department.

I lived in Italy from 1992-94 and learned

a lot about the people, the culture, and

the food. I returned to Utah wanting

to go to culinary school and becoming

a chef. Well... I met my wonderful wife

and instead of going to culinary school, I

decided to learn the ropes on the job. I

started out as a cook and quickly became

the lead chef in a fine dining restaurant

and a supervisor over the restaurant.

Management soon became my focus. I

have been in food service for about 20

years. During that time, my wife and I

began our own business. We operated

an award-winning photography and

video production company on the side

for about 10 years. We have 4 children

ranging from 2 to 12, and are licensed

foster parents — a labor that brings both

sorrow and immense joy.

After teaching teenagers to cook and

operate a business, I realized the part I

really loved was teaching. Plus I loved the

idea of having more time to spend with

my family! I was recently at Spectrum

Academy working with students that have

Autism Spectrum Disorders. This was a

valuable opportunity for me as I learned

to work with children and youth with

special needs, but I fell in love with these

kids. Each day was a new adventure.

My teaching philosophy: “If education is

always to be conceived along the same

antiquated lines of a mere transmission

of knowledge, there is little to be hoped

from it in the bettering of man’s future.

For what is the use of transmitting knowl-

edge if the individual’s total development

lags behind?” — Maria Montessori

MEET OUR TEACHERS

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KELLY RALSTON

Fine and Creative Art

My name is Kelly Ralston and I am excited

to bring my passion for art and creativ-

ity to AAI. I studied Art and minored in

Business at Utah State University where I

was very fortunate to receive the Ralph T.

Clark scholarship. I also had the opportu-

nity to study a semester abroad in Scot-

land and have my photos displayed in the

Fine Arts gallery on campus. After grad-

uating with a BS in Art in 2012, I worked

in marketing at a landscape architecture

firm where my skills in graphic design,

photography, and creative business came

in to play. I believe my experiences have

given me valuable real-world applications

for art and creative thinking and I look

forward to passing them along.

The beauty of nature, history, and human

ingenuity inspires me and I love to travel

and experience them in new places. I

grew up in Ogden, Utah with a large,

close-knit family that loves to camp and

travel. I have a weird passion for roller-

coasters and, while in Jr. High, made a list

of theme parks to visit. I have since been

to 12 (and counting) across the United

States. Wake surfing on Bear Lake, four

wheeling with my family, and bumming

on a beach are some of my favorite ways

to unwind. I also love to curl up with a

good book, geek out at the latest su-

perhero movie, and snowboard Utah’s

stunning mountains.

Teaching is a very natural next step

for me and I’m thrilled to be a part of

AAI’s team. I believe the arts are vital to

encouraging imaginative and creative

problem solving in all aspects of life and

are important tools for a well-rounded

education. My goal is to cultivate the con-

fidence in individual creativity along with

a desire for exploration of new ideas and

mediums in my students.

MEET OUR TEACHERS

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HILLARY HARRIS

School Counselor

My name is Hillary Harris and I am so

incredibly excited to be AAI’s School

Counselor! After growing up in Sarasota,

Florida and living a life of warmth (and

humidity) on the sandy gulf coast beach-

es, I attended Emory University in Atlanta,

Georgia where I double majored in Film

Studies and Psychology (I wrote my

senior honors thesis on Mister Rogers’

Neighborhood) while working as a work-

study student at a local preschool. Upon

graduation, I decided to journey to South

Central Los Angeles for a year of service

through City Year by working in an urban

title I elementary school. This led me to

my Master’s program in School Counsel-

ing at Vanderbilt University in Nashville,

Tennessee where I officially graduated

with my M.Ed in School Counseling in May

of 2016. Finally, I have joined the amazing

team at the American Academy of Innova-

tion where I am so happy and thrilled

to work in such a visionary, innovative

collective learning environment!

I am excited to be a part of this new

community, as I love AAI’s constructivist

co-creative teaching model as a powerful

way to inspire, engage, and teach stu-

dents. I also admire how AAI understands

that discovering each student’s unique

strengths, natural learning styles, needs,

and goals is absolutely critical in optimiz-

ing our students’ education.

As a school counselor, I am happiest see-

ing students grow and overcome both

personal and academic obstacles. With

my empathetic nature and big heart,

I am so honored to work with each of

AAI’s students in order to learn from

and understand them more deeply so

that I can better know which counseling,

community, and/or academic supports I

can provide to help them most effectively.

The brilliant Neil deGrasse Tyson perfect-

ly encapsulates this notion: “For me, I am

driven by two main philosophies: know

more today about the world than I knew

yesterday and lessen the suffering of oth-

ers. You’d be surprised how far that gets

you.” If you ever need someone to listen

to and/or help you with something that’s

been troubling your heart and mind, my

door is always open.

MEET OUR STAFF

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REBECCA INGERSOLL

Media Specialist

Salutations! My name is Becca Ingersoll,

and I am absolutely ecstatic to be joining

the American Academy of Innovation

team this year. I will finally be working

at my dream job: as the school’s Library

Media Specialist.

I grew up in beautiful Cache Valley, Utah,

and I have always known that I wanted to

work in education. From a very early age,

I have enjoyed learning and, especially,

READING. As I got older, I became one

of “those” students who actually enjoyed

grammar lessons and taking out a red

pen to correct my own and—I admit—

others’ work. Fear not, however; as my

knowledge of the mechanics of language

has increased, my desire to correct peo-

ple in conversation has decreased.

While working my way through college,

I had a variety of jobs including being

a retail sales associate at several loca-

tions, a substitute teacher, a tutor, and

the founder of an after-school drama

program at an elementary school. I

graduated Cum Laude from Utah State

University in December 2010 with a B.A.

in Secondary English Education and an

endorsement in School Library Media

Administration. Since then I have taught

at several different schools. I simply love

catching those “lightbulb moments” when

students get excited about something

they just learned or realized.

While I have had many wonderful expe-

riences as a classroom teacher over the

past five years, my true passion is in the

library. Being able to select and

share books and other resources I think

students and staff will fall in love with is

so rewarding. Libraries offer so many

opportunities for lifelong learning and en-

tertainment, and I am so looking forward

to helping others discover all that AAI’s

new library will have to offer.

I have been married to my college sweet-

heart for ten years, and we’ve enjoyed

turning our first house into a home over

the past few years. We also love snug-

gling with our two kitties. Aside from

reading as much as possible, I also enjoy

playing games, traveling, discovering new

favorite restaurants, crafting, attending

theatre productions, watching movies,

binge-watching TV series, and napping.

MEET OUR STAFF

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JENNIFER HAMILTON

Registration/Enrollment Specialist

I have worked in the administrative field

for over 10 years in varying roles which

include HR, Health & Safety, and Front Of-

fice Administrator, to name a few. I have

an Associates of Applied Sciences degree

in Paralegal Studies from Broadview Uni-

versity. I will be continuing my education

this fall with Western Governor’s Universi-

ty to obtain my Bachelor’s degree

in Education. I have a strong passion

for education and love to help others

achieve their goals in life. I also love to

see the passion for learning in kids’ faces,

and to see them blossom and graduate

with pride from their achievements.

MEET OUR STAFF

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