This collection of stories is an online extension and reproduction of the Coat of Arms 51.5 print edition. This package includes the original articles from the 51.5 News section and a few additional stories that highlight the careers and impact of departing Menlo faculty.
Clara Bergander

After one year of teaching Modern World History at Menlo, Clara Bergander will be returning to Gothenburg, Sweden, the city where her career first began in 2017.
Bergander initially came to the United States in 2023 with her husband, who acquired a research position at Stanford University. When another university in Gothenburg extended him an offer — this time to be a professor — she and her husband agreed to leave by this summer.
At Menlo, Bergander integrated aspects of Swedish curriculum into her classroom including experimenting with different grading systems and baking Swedish snacks for her classes.
Over the past year, she has been continuously impressed by the heavy workload that Menlo students take on. “Compared to schools in Sweden, student life is much more non-stop [here]. I can’t believe they have the energy to do all these things,” Bergander said.
Leaving Menlo is bittersweet for Bergander. In Sweden she has friends and family that await her, but will also miss many parts of her time at Menlo. In particular, Bergander says she’ll miss Menlo’s cafeteria pasta, beautiful campus and hardworking students.
In the future, she hopes to continue teaching history and mixing cultures in the classroom. “The classroom should be an environment where everyone is encouraged to have their own opinion and respect each other. I have worked hard for that, and I feel that it has paid off in a very positive way,” Bergander said. “Always be yourself and value your strengths.”
Tracey Bobrowicz

After rounding out her 17th year at the school and as Assistant Librarian, Tracey Bobrowicz will be closing the book on her time at Menlo and retiring.
Bobrowicz plans to move with her husband north to Santa Rosa, where she looks forward to cultivating a new garden just like she did at her home in Menlo Park. “One of the first things we’re going to do [once we move] is to start planning our garden,” she said.
And while she will no longer be working full-time, Bobrowicz is not leaving the education world for good. She also is excited about volunteering at local school districts. “I would love to volunteer in at-risk communities, in their libraries [and] in their reading programs,” Bobrowicz said. “Many kids still don’t have someone who can read to them at home because their parents are working.”
Bobrowicz began her career working in the library just down the road at Hillview Middle School. Eventually, she ended up at Menlo. From managing AP exams and ordering books for the library, to creating intricate book displays and acting as an information desk for the school, Bobrowicz always has her hands full. However, she said she loves what she does. “It’s the most rewarding job I have ever ever had,” she said.
One of her favorite Menlo memories was a prior senior prank. “While we were at assembly, all the [seniors] zip-tied all of the backpacks together in a giant mound,” she said.
Bobrowicz’s job is unique such that she is well-acquainted with students from both the middle and upper schools; she appreciates gaining so much firsthand experience in education while working at Menlo. “You can have all these great ideas, but […] there’s a lot of trial and error, and that’s something you don’t really learn unless you’re in a school,” she said.
Bobrowicz will miss the time she spends with Menlo students the most. “The students are great to be around. They’re just so full of their hopes and dreams […],” she said. “Being a witness to their growth and maturity, it’s such a gift.”
Justin Carunchia

Spanish teacher and Senior Class Dean Justin Carunchia plans to depart from Menlo after five years at the school.
Carunchia is leaving Menlo in order to move in with his soon-to-be husband, a doctor who lives in Florida. In mid-May, Carunchia’s long-distance fiancé is flying in to marry Carunchia at a local courthouse in the Bay Area. They plan on having a traditional wedding ceremony next year.
In 2020, Carunchia was looking for schools in LGBTQ+ friendly cities and initially excluded California due to tax reasons. At one point, he discussed his future employment situation with the language department head at the school in Michigan where he previously worked. “The only [job opening] I’ve seen is one in California,” Carunchia recalled. “And I told her it was Menlo School, and her jaw dropped because she was the department chair here at Menlo in the early 2000s.” Although Carunchia wasn’t able to visit the school due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to come teach at Menlo due to the strong recommendation from his former department head, the school’s online presence and the existence of a Gender and Sexuality Alliance at Menlo.
Carunchia is going to miss many aspects of Menlo. “First and foremost, I’m going to miss my department. My colleagues are […] some of the most loving, caring, kind, compassionate, empathetic and affable people that I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” Carunchia said. He added that he will miss Menlo’s students and his role as the senior dean.
Although Carunchia isn’t fully sure what he wants to do profession-wise next year, he has an idea. “For the foreseeable future, I’m going to take a break and I am already looking for [unaccompanied minor] organizations that work with Latino youth […] to get them help and to get them represented,” Carunchia said. “I’m looking to see if I can interpret or translate, either on a volunteer basis, or if I can get paid for it, that would be great.”
Timothy Costa

After teaching both Analytic Geometry and Algebra, Algebra 2 and coaching girls’ and boys’ soccer for one school year, math teacher and Menlo alum Timothy Costa (’13) is once again saying goodbye to the school.
In the fall, Costa will head back to Seattle for his wife’s new job, where he previously taught at a public school. Though he doesn’t know where he’ll be teaching next, he’s confident he’ll stay in the classroom.
“I’m really happy that I was able to come here for the year,” Costa said. “I’m bummed that it was so short because I was able to get so comfortable here so quickly.”
One aspect that Costa loves about Menlo is the welcoming environment. “I think in the first couple of weeks [of working at Menlo], I was accepted by the students, and kind of started to build that relationship, which was really cool,” Costa said. He remembers being welcomed in the same way as a freshman in 2009.
Costa’s former advocate, teacher and now colleague Randy Joss recalled a time when Costa was a senior at Menlo and walked by one of his classes full of freshmen, who all knew his name. “They thought of him very fondly, with a smile on their faces. He wasn’t intimidating,” Joss said.
Freshman Lisi Mahe, who was tutored by Costa last summer, also appreciates his welcoming personality. “Mr. Costa is always willing to help and his enthusiasm for learning is apparent in how he teaches,” Mahe said.
Costa didn’t always think he’d become a teacher. He admits that he wasn’t the best at math growing up, but that he’s always loved it. “I have a passion for helping people, so I tried to merge the two and become a math teacher,” Costa said.
Deb Jensen

This spring, the Menlo community will bid farewell to Deb Jensen, who is retiring after spending 28 years teaching freshman physics and AP Physics 2 at Menlo. Since high school, Jensen has always loved physics, and in college, she realized teaching it would be much more enjoyable than pursuing a job in a lab.
As a teacher, especially post-pandemic, Jensen has prioritized leaving the learning in the hands of her students. Instead of just giving lectures, Jensen wants her students to be able to do their own reading or watch videos before each lesson so that class time can be used for collaboration.
Jensen especially appreciates her relationship with her colleagues. “I think the science department has been great,” Jensen said.
“She’s somebody who’s got so many different skills and passions and interests. That’s something I wish I could aspire to,” biology and Human Anatomy and Physiology teacher Todd Hardie said. Hardie — who joined Menlo’s staff the same year as Jensen — recalls many memories the two have made together, from visiting museums to the time she taught him to make a stir-fry. “She’s a great cook,” Hardie said.
According to Hardie, now that she’s retiring, Jensen will be able to spend more time on her many hobbies, which include gardening, knitting and playing the ukulele.
“My plans are to do some gardening, find a new house that I can garden in and spend time swimming and riding my bike and doing things I don’t have time to do right now,” Jensen said.
There are many aspects of Menlo that Jensen cherishes and will miss when she is gone, including the pool and the cafeteria’s potato chips. Beyond those, Jensen says that she will also miss going out to lunch with Dr. Dann, Mr. Schafer’s many metaphors and sharing arcane song lyrics with Dr. Hanson.
Since her husband will begin working for Caltech soon, Jensen will be living in Pasadena. If she comes to the Bay Area, she hopes to visit Menlo. “I’d love to drop in and see how things are going,” she said.
Jensen urges her students to stop being timid and live life with a more daring attitude. “I would tell my students to stop asking permission all the time. Just put on your big kid pants and go out and take some risks and have some fun,” she said.
Alexis King

This spring, Alexis King will be completing her 10th and final year of teaching at Menlo. King has taught chemistry, biology and environmental science during her time at the school. Each year, she has also been in charge of planning for MTerm programming and served as an academic advisor.
King ultimately decided that she wanted to cut down her one hour commute each way and work closer to her home near Half Moon Bay. King has two young children, ages 5 and 1, and wants to spend more quality time with them. Next school year, she plans on teaching chemistry and biology at the Head Royce School in Oakland.
King grew up in the Bay Area and came to Menlo after working at a boarding school on the East Coast. King knew she wanted a career in education ever since she enjoyed working as a teaching assistant in college, a position she found joy in taking.
She says that Menlo is the best place she has ever worked and that leaving was a very hard decision. “I’ve really loved working at Menlo. It’s a great place to be a teacher since they really encourage you to develop a curriculum you care about and you’re not stuck following a textbook,” King said.
King has built many relationships with students and was able to watch them grow, which happens to be her favorite part about teaching; she especially loves the energy, curiosity and enthusiasm she witnesses in her students.
King will miss the Menlo community a lot, especially the relationships she has built and the tight-knit science department. She especially looks forward to the annual faculty tradition of giving kudos to each other on the last day of school, which ends the year on a note of gratitude.
Senior Karen Xin, who had King as a teacher for two years, really appreciates her clear and concise teaching style. Xin also loves how she builds students’ capacity to think about applying concepts to real life.
Xin reflected on her fun and positive energy, which she believes is one of the unique aspects about King as a teacher. “She’s one of those teachers who will give you everything she’s got,” Xin said.