Introducing Cat Galligan, St. IV Science/Homeroom

After working in Roeper’s summer camp and serving as a guest teacher for a year. After these experiences, they accepted an associate teacher position in Stage III. After a year of teaching they determined that they wanted to be immersed in the field of education and pursued a Master’s in education from Oakland University.

In the interview process, Cat wowed us with a sample lesson on engineering and design where students designed a water bottle that could keep liquids cool for long periods of time.  

Now, Cat is set to teach Stage IV science and co-lead a homeroom with Ellen Hoppe. Their unique blend of engineering expertise and educational training positions them to support our gifted community. Cat's deep understanding of the Roeper mission and philosophy, combined with an enthusiasm for science, engineering, and robotics, will support and ignite a passion for STEM subjects among Lower School students.

Cat's answers to our questions:

I will be the Stage IV science teacher - as well as a Stage IV homeroom teacher working with Ellen Hoppe. I hope to have the best of both worlds: as a specialist, I get to teach and be a cheerleader for every student in Stage IV (and I get to lead science electives) – but I will also be able to build strong relationships with that subset of students who are in my homeroom so that I can really act as their advocate. I am lucky to have an amazing range of formal and informal mentors, including all the other Stage IV teachers (some of whom were teaching at Roeper when I was a Stage IV student!) and my science mentor, Sosha Haynes.

When I was six, I got to watch a space shuttle launch; last year, I was in Toledo for the solar eclipse and was able to see totality. Honestly, both were equally incredible.

More and more, I feel a longing to return to the UP where I went to college. I got my undergraduate degree from Michigan Technological University, and I feel a lot of nostalgia towards Houghton. I miss the snow.

I am a Roeper alumna; I feel so grateful to my parents for giving me the opportunity to attend Roeper (and for making the long commute from Clarkston to Bloomfield Hills/Birmingham every day!). I have a little brother and sister who also graduated from Roeper. Gina is in her senior year studying English at Northern Michigan University – lately, I have been really inspired by her work with the genre of climate fiction. Meanwhile, Griffin is in the middle of a degree in audio engineering from Lawrence Tech.

I tend to bounce around from interest to interest – I think what I love is finding new things to try out. Art and creativity are common themes. For example, right now I’m obsessed with calligraphy and single-player ttrpgs (a.k.a. guided journalling/creative writing systems), but that probably won’t be how I’ll answer the question in a couple of months. The hobbies with more sticking power for me are: video games, piano, and running (which I am still relatively new to, but I’m trying my best).

The engineering design process. I love guiding students as they come up with and then test and refine their own ideas.

When I was a child, the adults at Roeper took the time to understand me as an individual. They didn’t file me away or write me off based on initial impressions – they put in the work needed to see me as a whole person. I feel that my co-workers at Roeper naturally approach their peers with that sort of understanding, which makes Roeper a really welcoming and safe place to work. More importantly, I am motivated to give back and provide current Roeper students with the same sort of respect that was so meaningful to me.