A new math teacher has arrived at De Pere High School. Ms. Alexis Paye is from nearby Luxemburg-Casco and has always had her sights set on being a teacher.
Q: Where are you from? Are you from Wisconsin?
A: I am from Luxemburg-Casco. I graduated in 2019.
Q: What are some things you did in High School? Sports? Clubs? Music?
A: I was a three-sport athlete. I ran cross country, I played basketball, and I played soccer. I loved them all. I was in Sting Cancer, which I loved since I had someone pass away from cancer so that is dear to my heart, and I was in the National Honor Society.
Q: In high school, did you always want to be a teacher?
A: I always wanted to be a teacher. At Luxemburg, they had something called peer mentoring that I signed up for In my senior year. Then I was in two different classes – a pre-calc class, and a geometry class – where I got to work one-on-one with students and helped them improve their math skills. Then my mentor teachers challenged me by pulling kids aside and walking through problems with them and showing them what they did wrong. I’ve always liked school, so I wanted to stay here.
Q: Did you have any jobs during high school?
A: My dad owns a hobby shop (a window and door business) and I would work with him during the summer. But during my senior year, I started officiating basketball, which I still do today.
Q: Where did you go to college?
A: I went to UWGB and graduated in 3 ½ years. My college experience was very crazy because during my first year, COVID-19 hit and it was not normal, which is why I wanted to get out as soon as possible. I adored it there. I was a commuter, so I wasn’t on campus a lot, but I wouldn’t have changed that.
Q: What was your college teaching experience like?
A: My college teaching experience was very interesting. In my freshman year, I was placed in Edison Middle School and we were getting ready for spring break, and it was just like, “Bye, see you after break,” but I never saw those kids again. After spring break everyone went online and nobody was able to come back to the school. Then, in my sophomore year, everyone was still online because of COVID-19, so I was put in an online placement at a school in Rochester, Minnesota. I taught this group of Somalian kids, loved teaching them, it was super cool. Then a year and a half ago, I was a student teacher here for Mr. McGill. I was a student-teacher at Denmark High School last fall.
Q: What do you enjoy about DPHS so far?
A: I got to play musical chairs and got pied in the face, so that was exhilarating, but I love that such a big school can feel like a small community. I feel like I have gotten to know part of the staff pretty well; we got to do after-school stuff like hanging out, but then I’m co-advising Key Club, so I’m getting to learn more about the students. It’s kind of hard on my side since I only teach freshmen and mostly sophomores. I do have a couple of juniors, but I do not get to see any of the seniors, so It’s nice to do a club where I can know all four grades.
Q: What made you decide to teach math?
A: I didn’t always want to teach math. At a very young age, I wanted to be some sort of teacher. But when I got to high school, I realized how much I really liked math and how much I helped my friends with math since we were in the CPM curriculum. Math was just easier for me, and I thought math was fun, so that’s what changed my mind about math.
Q: What are some of your hobbies and interests? How do you spend your free time?
A: Right now I’m doing outdoorsy things. I planted my first garden this summer, so I’m stepping into that right now, but I also like to travel and read. My favorite author is Stephen King, so I like horror books and horror movies. Two years ago, me and my fiance bought a side-by-side, so we like to go up north and ride our side-by-side.
Q: What are some goals you have for the future?
A: I’m thinking about getting my master’s degree. Another personal goal is to travel to all 50 states.
