Carly Montan
Web Features Editor
And Allie Rosen
Features Editor
Alumnus Drew Holland just can’t get enough of Mira Costa’s history. In addition to his position as an English teacher, he has now decided to take on the job of yearbook advisor.
“I chose to advise the yearbook staff this year because it’s very different from an English class. It has a team mentality in which students are taking leadership roles, which I like,” Holland said.
The advisor poistion became available this year because the previous teacher, Dawn Nelson, took a job as vice principal at Lawndale High School. The new process of yearbook production will not be much different from that of previous years aside from a few new ideas that Holland has suggested.
“I’m an organized person and I like taking things and making them run better and more efficiently than they already do. I want the students to have the best experience and education possible in my class,” Holland said.
Although Holland will be the yearbook advisor, he still has freshman and sophomore English classes. He has been at Costa for three years, teaching senior, sophomore and freshman as well as a student academic support class. His goal is for students to walk out of his class with the ability to think through complex questions efficiently.
“Mr. Holland is a great teacher who always started my day on a good note. He was definitely one of my favorite teachers and helped develop my positive attitude toward English,” sophomore Savannah Wood said.
After graduating from Costa in 2001, he attended University of California Santa Barbara and went to Pepperdine for graduate school where he earned his teaching credentials.
He then spent time working as a writer and photographer for the Beach Reporter where he gained experience working as a part of a team. He plans to share his knowledge with his students in hopes that they will acheive their goals.
“I’m excited. I expect it to be a positive experience, but I don’t expect it to be easy because it’s complicated and new to me. I think it will be rewarding,” Holland said.
Since the technology and process is new to Holland, it will be a group effort for him and the new staff members to learn how everything works. He says that he has decided to run his class somewhat differently from his normal English classes.
“I try to let the students run the class as much as possible. I am still learning from them, but at the same time, putting my input in on how to make it better,” Holland said.
After becoming the yearbook advisor, Holland was forced to move rooms in order to be closer to the yearbook room.
“Switching rooms was really not that bad. It is more peaceful now that I’m a bit further away from the band hall,” Holland said.
Currently, Holland’s main priorities are his English classes and the yearbook staff.
“Mr. Holland is a really dedicated teacher, and I know that this year’s yearbook will be a success,” assitant yearbook editor Erin Murphy said.
As for the theme of this year’s yearbook, he and the Yearbook staff are keeping their lips sealed until a time closer to its distribution.
“I think he’s a good match for yearbook because he understands where we are coming from. He’s willing to help us out and is organized enough to take on two subjects” sophomore yearbook staff member Lauren Shnuckel said.
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