“That’s what I find most fun about teaching. You have to try to explain the same thing in six different ways,” said math teacher Caitlin Hart-Loi. In the classroom, Hart-Loi is often found exuberantly explaining how to graph linear functions to a befuddled group of middle-schoolers. Hart-Loi tries her best to help students develop a positive association with math, in conjunction with her teaching philosophy that learning should be an enjoyable experience for all of the students in the class and that we shouldn’t have to take ourselves too seriously in the process.
This year marked Hart-Loi’s third year at Poly. Hart-Loi says that she always knew she wanted to be a teacher. In fact, teaching always came naturally to Hart-Loi. In high school, she tutored students, which she grew to love in college. She also taught swim lessons and studied education.
Growing up, Hart-Loi was an intense athlete. She was a competitive swimmer from 4th grade through her junior year in college, and a competitive cross country runner her senior year in college. Since graduating college, Hart-Loi furthers her passion for running by being an active participant in both marathons and triathlons.
“I enjoy running because I love to be outside, and I find it relaxing,” Hart-Loi explained. She goes on to say that having grown up a pretty intense athlete, she needs her “practice time” in order to feel calm. She loves running outdoors, and uses it as time to listen to a podcast or music, and to explore new areas.
Most recently, Hart-Loi trained for and ran the Boston Marathon. After an injury halted her plans to run the New York City Marathon last fall, Hart-Loi undertook an intense preparation process for the Boston Marathon. “I have this color-coated Excel spreadsheet that’s four, seven-week time spans,” said Hart-Loi, a move that will not surprise her students. She meticulously planned her training, increasing her mileage in a gradual way that felt healthy, eventually leading up to her longest run: 20 miles.
However, the marathon is more than a run to Hart-Loi. Running the Boston Marathon holds special meaning for Hart-Loi, who used it to raise over $17,000 for cancer research at Dana Farber in honor of her mother, who passed away last year from the disease.
In her free time, Hart-Loi also enjoys cooking and baking, two hobbies that she did with her family when she was growing up. She also likes to read, a hobby that she picked up in college, sometimes reading a book in a day in the summer.
