Neha Kamdar, Branson’s English teacher and faculty advisor to the Creative Writing Club, as well as the MESA affinity group, will undertake a new role this year as the 9th grade class dean.
Kamdar has not yet served as a dean but is “really excited about getting to know all of the students.” Additionally, Kamdar has not taught ninth grade English but enjoys “observing the developmental change that happens in students” between the 10th and 11th grades. “I find that very exciting,” Kamdar said, adding that she is “excited to track [student development] even earlier.”
Throughout her time working at Branson, Kamdar has “seen the ways in which [class deans] work to facilitate a student’s full experience over the four years they are at Branson.”
Kamdar said helping “students who may be going through academic challenges, social challenges, or anything else happening in a student’s life” is incredibly rewarding.
Advice Kamdar has for the incoming class is to not “be afraid to make mistakes.” Kamdar reflects that often at Branson, “there is a focus on a specific kind of achievement, meaning a lot of pressure that students put on themselves or that they find put on them externally.”
Kamdar does not want students to be afraid to “step out of their comfort zones” or “try new things” at the risk of perceived failure.
For any students hoping to find Kamdar, look for her during non-teaching class blocks in the dean’s office in Richardson Hall or, occasionally, the English department office as Kamdar says “that is still my home.”
Lastly, Kamdar hopes three words can summarize this coming year: “new-ness, creativity and rigor.”
