After a dedicated year covering Mr. Shen’s sabbatical in the Chinese Department, Ms. Chiu will depart from Belmont Hill this June. Before joining Belmont Hill, Ms. Chiu worked as a Chinese instructor in the World Languages Department at Salem State University. She is also a member of the New England Chinese Teacher Association. Ms. Chiu is originally from Taipei, Taiwan, which gave her students the unique opportunity to speak with, listen to, and learn from a native speaker. Will Achtmeyer ’26 explained why he enjoyed having Ms. Chiu as a Chinese teacher this year: “That’s what I liked about her so much: her consistent positive attitude towards her students.”
Ms. Chiu was initially nervous to jump blindly into the hectic boys’ school culture. Just a few weeks in, she found her groove with the help of a surrounding community that was “extremely welcoming and eased the transition.” She has become integral to the community, teaching Chinese 3, 4, 4A, and 5A. She also stepped up to teach Mr. DiResta’s section of Chinese 2 during his paternity leave. Outside the classroom, Ms. Chiu coached the middle school cross-country team and worked as a Form V advisor alongside Dr. Tift.
In her time at Belmont Hill, Ms. Chiu was impressed with the structured schedule and students’ time management skills. Although her breadth of classes overwhelmed her at first, she found that her fellow faculty members were “super supportive and would oftentimes coordinate small meetings to make sure everything was going well,” allowing her to focus more energy on her students.
In contrast to her prior experience at Salem State, Ms. Chiu was delighted to hear that Belmont Hill classes meet four times a week, as “[her] college classes would only meet for three hours a week.” This allowed Ms. Chiu to “get to know each student more personally by both not only seeing them every day but delving into lively dialogue with the smaller class sizes.” She saw that Belmont Hill students were clear in what they wanted to do after high school and was impressed by their academic determination.
When asked how the community could improve, Ms. Chiu stated, “I cannot think of anything…I just love it here and wish I could stay longer to learn more.” Ms. Chiu embraced the idea of learning while teaching. She said she would also miss the “different vibes” in each of her classes. Each boy’s unique personality helped make each day exciting, allowing her to connect with all of them on a personal level.
“Every day was unique; everyone was just so friendly, and I will miss all the people who made every day a good day,” Ms. Chiu reflected. The Panel thanks Ms. Chiu for her passionate work and dedicated time at Belmont Hill and wishes her luck in all future endeavors. ☐
