This year Delphi is fortunate to welcome eight new teachers and staff to our school. Some of them you may have in class, and others you may not, but there is a good chance you will see them at some point in your high school career, so why not get to know them now? Please welcome Ms. Crowel, art; Mr. Taylor, special education; Ms. Dowel, FACS and Education Professions; Ms. McGill, French; Ms. Nacke, special education; Mrs. Stankard, math; Mr. Cowley, world history; and Mr. Reich, science. 

Ms. Crowel

What inspired you to become a teacher/or work in the high school?

When I was trying to decide what I wanted to study in college, I realized I wanted to do something I would look forward to every day. I thought a lot about what my passions and talents are, and decided teaching was a good goal. I decided art was the best subject for me to teach because it was always my favorite subject growing up and I love the flexibility and expression that comes with making art. 

What were you doing before you came to Delphi?

Before coming to Delphi, I was a student at the Herron School of Art + Design at IUPUI. In college I was super involved. I was a Resident Assistant for 3 years, president of an honor society/service organization on campus, a 500 Festival Princess, and a bunch of other cool roles!

How do you like working at Delphi so far?

I love working at Delphi! I love the community, the staff, and the students. Everyone has been so welcoming and kind to me, and I really appreciate that since I’m from a big city like Indianapolis where it is easy to get lost in a crowd of people, even at school.

Tell us about your family.

I have 2 siblings: a brother who is a junior at Purdue studying Forestry and a sister who is a junior in high school. My parents and sister live in Indianapolis where I grew up, but my brother and I are both in Lafayette. I live with my almost 3 year old cat, Frank.

What college did you attend?

I attended the Herron School of Art + Design at IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis).

What are some of your hobbies?

Some of my hobbies include having penpals from all over the world, roller skating, playing tennis, watching anime, cooking without a recipe, traveling, thrift shopping, and creating my own art!

Mr. Taylor

What inspired you to become a teacher/or work in the high school?

I come from a family of educators. My dad was a long time teacher at both McCutcheon and Harrison, and his parents were also career teachers. I’ve bounced around and worked in Middle School, High School, and even College – but I have found that high school is my favorite age group to work with.

What were you doing before you came to Delphi?

As stated above, I’ve worked in multiple schools, but I’ve also worked outside of education as well. I’ve been a college football coach, camp counselor, insurance salesman, and more—somehow I always find my way back to education.

How do you like working at Delphi so far?

I grew up in Americus, just south of Delphi. I’ve always been familiar with the greater Delphi community, but I am pleasantly surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed working here so far. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I think there were more students in my graduating class at Harrison than there are students in all grades put together at DCHS! It’s been great to get to know so many teachers and students in such a short amount of time, which is one of the reasons I enjoy working in Special Education so much. This is a special place that genuinely cares about each and every student, something you don’t always get everywhere you work.

Tell us about your family. 

My wife and I live on the east side of Lafayette with our two dogs, Walter and Primrose. Both are goldendoodles and they are brother and sister from two different litters with the same parents. My wife, Beth, works in Lafayette as an Assistant Creative Director at Mitchell Fabrics—a curator and distributor of interior and exterior textiles.

What college did you attend?

I graduated from Franklin College of Indiana with my Bachelors and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with my Masters.

What are some of your hobbies?

I am a football coach, charter fishing captain, and a gamer. While those are the main three, I’ve got interests and hobbies all over the place. I love building Lego’s, woodworking, hiking/camping, smoking meats, and I even paint/sell my own fishing lures. Last year my wife and I built a huge Christmas Village with little houses and people complete with a working electric train—we love to try all kinds of new projects. My next hobby project is to either create a tabletop retro arcade cabinet programmed with a Raspberry Pi 4 (mini-computer) or begin construction on my cedar strip canoe.

Ms. Dowell

What inspired you to become a teacher/or work in the high school?

My mom was a really big inspiration to me as she is a teacher as well. She teaches kindergarten in Logansport. I have always admired what she does and it has made me want to go into this profession. I have always had amazing teachers throughout my life and I believe this played a role in my decision to become a teacher myself.

What were you doing before you came to Delphi?

Before becoming a teacher at Delphi I was a student at Delphi. I had a short time away while attending college only with the hope of coming back very soon.

How do you like working at Delphi so far?

I absolutely love working at Delphi like I knew I would. I love getting to work with people I know and being in a place that already feels like home. The students and staff could not be better!

Tell us about your family.

I have 3 younger siblings. A sister Kori, who is a junior; a brother Tristan, who is a freshman; and another sister Lauren, who is a 7th grader. My youngest siblings live in Seymour ,Indiana. I also have a cat named Krueger.

What college did you attend?

I attended Purdue University for four years to obtain my Bachelor’s degree in Family and Consumer Sciences Education. During my time at Purdue, I participated in two clubs, The American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and Purdue STUNT.

What are some of your hobbies?

I enjoy watching scary movies and baking sweet treats. Most of my extra time goes to cheer-leading. I coach both middle school and high school and it has always been a big part of my life.

Ms. McGill

What inspired you to become a teacher/or work in the high school?

To be completely honest, up until a few months ago, I wasn’t planning on being a teacher. But when I heard that Madame was retiring, I decided that it was a good path for me. I wanted to continue the French program because it meant a lot to me when I was at Delphi, and I wanted to give the students the opportunity to have experiences that I had.

What were you doing before you came to Delphi?

I was studying English Literature at Ball State University. I graduated this past May with a bachelor’s in English Lit and a double minor in Creative Writing and French.

How do you like working at Delphi so far?

I really love it. The students are hard-working and entertaining, and I enjoy getting to see so many of the teachers that I had when I was a student here. It’s good, but weird!

Tell us about your family

My younger brother, Logan Miller, is a senior at Delphi, while my mother is the treasurer over at the corporation office. My older brother and sister-in-law had a baby in July, so I’m now an aunt to the adorable Madden. Last year, I adopted a calico kitten whom I named Jane Bennet. She’s a year old, and she’s crazy. My family also has two other, older cats, and two new dogs that we’ve gotten over the past few months.

What college did you attend?

I graduated from Ball State University in May. In a few weeks, I will start at Emerson College in Boston, doing the  online graduate program of Popular Fiction and Publishing. I’m very excited to get started!

What are some of your hobbies?

I love to read and write; those are the things that I probably do the most. Feel free to talk to me about either! I’m also huge into drama and Broadway. I’ve been acting since I was eight, and I did every show that I could in high school. (I hope to help out with the drama productions at Delphi!) I also love to play piano, something else that I’ve done since I was a child. I’m a pretty arts-y person when it comes to my hobbies.

Ms. Nacke

What inspired you to become a teacher/or work in the high school? 

I went into college undeclared and unsure of what direction I wanted to go. I stumbled into an introductory education class my sophomore year of college where I was able to work in a middle school classroom and that was all I needed to declare a major. Of course, I wouldn’t have even made it that far if I didn’t have wonderful teachers like Mr. Dennison. Mrs. Kahl, or Mrs. Dennison standing behind me and encouraging me or the strong guidance of Mrs. Kirkwood nudging me to apply to colleges I had never considered.

What were you doing before you came to Delphi?

 Studying abroad. I finished my college degree while living in the United Kingdom. I was there for 16 weeks and managed to visit 14 countries while there. If you are ever in my room, stop and ask me about my wackiest travel story!

How do you like working at Delphi so far?

I’m loving it. Every day holds a new adventure. I graduated from Delphi so it’s a fun new journey to be back in my old school in a different role.

Tell us about your family. 

My family still lives locally with my two labradors. My sister, Tori, is working on completing her college degree at the University of Southern Indiana.

What college did you attend? 

I attended the University of Evansville (Go Purple Aces!), and I studied abroad at Harlaxton College in Grantham England.

What are some of your hobbies? 

I enjoy reading, painting very poorly, and walking my two dogs Clark and Eddie. When I went to school here I participated in Battle of the Books so I’ve always been a bookworm.

Mrs. Stankard 

What inspired you to become a teacher/or work in the high school?

I have always loved working with kids and decided to become a teacher at a young age.  Once I started teaching elementary students, I realized that I didn’t want to work with elementary age children, so I went back to school to get my license to teach middle school and high school.

What were you doing before you came to Delphi?

Before I came to work at Delphi, I was teaching 6th grade math at Roosevelt Middle School in Monticello. I taught there for two years. Before that, I taught at Lafayette Jeff High School for five years, and before Lafayette Jeff I taught at Columbia Middle School for five years. 

How do you like working at Delphi so far?

I LOVE being an Oracle!

Tell us about your family. 

I have two girls that attend DCHS.  Makaila is a junior and Abigail is a freshman.  My husband, Jeff and I own Unique Automotive in Delphi.  I also have two step-children.  Payton is a freshman at Purdue this fall and Olivia is an eighth grader at Carroll.  We have a dog, Ellie—she is a shichon (a mix between a Shi Tzu and a Bichon Frise). 

What college did you attend?

I attended Purdue University for three years and then transferred to IUPUI to earn my Bachelors.  I then attended St. Martin University in Olympia, WA to earn my Middle School math/science endorsement.  I then went on to get my Masters in Education at Indiana Wesleyan.

What are some of your hobbies?

My hobbies include sewing, reading, gardening, baking, and spending time with my family.

Mr. Reich

What inspired you to become a teacher/or work in the high school?

I really enjoyed being a teaching assistant at Purdue.  I wanted to show high school students that science can be fun and isn’t that boring.

What were you doing before you came to Delphi?

Before coming here I was teaching biology at Purdue and studying the integration of the nature of science teaching and online education.

How do you like working at Delphi so far?

It’s been great.  The people rock and everyone is helpful.

Tell us about your family. 

My wife and I just had our second child. We have a two year old boy and a 3 month old daughter.  My wife is a nurse practitioner at the Subaru factory.  We enjoy the outdoors and being active in our church.

What college did you attend?

I studied general science at Purdue, earned an education degree from Western Governors University, and am finishing up my masters degree in science education.

What are some of your hobbies?

Tennis has been a major part of my life from 5th grade until two years ago.  My son already has a small racket and net!  Currently my family likes to camp at the state parks, with fall camping being our favorite.