There may be a new face in the science hall, but to science teacher Ashley Hastings, CHS isn’t all that unfamiliar. In fact, Hastings comes here to be closer to where she lives.
“I live in the area and I’ve been eyeing the opportunity to come here to be closer so I can spend time with my own family, but also with the intention that my son will feed into Chantilly,” Hastings said. “I wanted him to become associated with the community and the area.”
Growing up in Front Royal, Virginia, Hastings discovered she wanted to teach science while in high school. Something that stuck out to Hastings was the way her biology teacher had gone out of his way to connect with students.
“I took bio and I had a teacher that was really integrative with things and also took the time to get to know me, so I’m really about relationships,” Hastings said. “For me, I like building them and I like seeing the light bulbs go off. That’s also why I like anatomy, because it’s real world stuff.”
(Leilah Ross)
Outside the classroom, Hastings enjoys connecting with her family through tennis. Having coached the sport at two of her former schools, tennis was introduced to her by her sister.
“My son’s in tennis so I’ll come here in the afternoons, during the weeks, and he’ll take tennis lessons,” Hastings said. “I got into [tennis] because my sister got into it. At McLean last year, they needed a coach, so I coached out there for them. It’s just kind of taken on a family vibe. School has integrated into home.”
Beyond just her immediate family, Hastings wants to build relationships with all of her students. Like her high school biology teacher, she values a strong sense of unity in her classroom and wants everyone to work as a team.
“I treat everybody like a family,” Hastings said. “To me, we’re in it for the long haul, so we need to learn to work together. At the end of the day, I want us to be that close unit, [because] I feel like when we build that relationship, we can all collectively work as one.”
