New First Year Teacher: Eva Brill

Our new teacher, Eva Brill, is excited about the idea of teaching science at Wellsprings. She came from New York City where she graduated with a Bachelors in Liberal Arts from Eugene Lang College. At college, she majored in environmental studies with a concentration on science, technology, and society.

At Wellsprings, Eva teaches a little bit of every kind of science. She also relates today’s scientific issues to our lives and how we live. Eva likes having the freedom to teach what she is interested in and what students are interested in. She also likes the laid back environment at Wellsprings and how individuality stands out here.

After school, Eva likes to hike for fun, loves to watch old movies from all times, hangs out with her dog, and likes to cook.

I think that Eva is very creative, kind hearted, funny, and amazing to be around. She always looks on the bright side of things. Even though I’ve only been here this year, I think that she is a great teacher to have at Wellsprings Friends School.

-- Nataya ('09)

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Fifth Full-time Teacher Added: Tyler Tjernlund

This fall, Wellsprings added a fifth fulltime teacher, Tyler Tjernlund. Tyler began his career at Wellsprings last fall as the “kitchen lady”. He was raised in Albany, Oregon until he moved to Eugene at age 18 to attend college.

Tyler came to Wellsprings to be of help to youth who were similar to him in high school: not fitting the mainstream, and struggling to become yourself not just the kind of person everyone expects. Being at the school allowed Tyler to give to students something he never had: love and unconditional support in being true to yourself.

Tyler began teaching part time last winter, subjects such as philosophy, history, and language arts. Teaching allows him to share his love of learning and looking at things more deeply.

Dealing with student problems, Tyler works hard at having endless patience and looking at the situation from the student’s point of view. Being a role model makes Tyler feel responsible for his actions and keeps him looking critically at himself to improve. As one student pointed out, “we love him and wouldn’t have him any other way.”

-- by Ayashe (‘08)

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