Up until this year, students signing up for the challenging AP Statistics course, expected to get Susan Sebastian as their
teacher. She is the first person to teach the course here and has taught math for the past 33 years. Math students and fellow teachers are losing a passionate teacher at the end of trimester two as Sebastian retires and begins a new chapter.

Sebastian started with a master’s degree in business, and for five years she used this knowledge and experience to sell companies. However, she knew that this wasn’t what she was meant to do. “I realized I needed to worry about people, not money and things,” Sebastian said.

Math is her passion, and she enjoys teaching AP Stats since she can use sarcasm and jokes with her older students, but she also liked teaching college algebra because of those students’ enthusiasm to learn.

Senior Joey Flores, one of Sebastian’s AP stats students, is disappointed in her departure. He claims that stats can be a challenging class for some, but Sebastian is, “involved in the student’s comprehension of the information, so she’s dedicated to making every student understand,” Flores said.

Fellow math teacher Michelle Zikeli has known Sebastian for almost 20 years and also appreciates her dedication. She’s sad to see her good friend go but is happy for her as she starts her new
life. “She’s always someone who you can talk to and who’s willing to stop what they are doing to help you,” Zikeli said.

Sebastian is grateful for all of the wonderful memories she’s had at Poway and the support she has received. Ten years ago, when she was diagnosed with cancer, Poway showed her a wealth of support and love from teachers and students that she will never forget.

Sebastian and her husband have a cruise planned for April, and she hopes to become a certified Zumba instructor.
Most importantly, she’s looking forward to completely ditching her alarm clock.