This year, CCHS welcomed back Rebecca Meeks to the faculty. She teaches two Honors Chemistry classes. Meeks worked at Clinton High School for one year and then taught at CCHS for thirteen years before taking a hiatus. During her pause from being a high school teacher, she became a mother and also taught part-time as a General Chemistry professor at Brandeis University.
Meeks grew up in West Boylston, MA, where she was a chemistry student of Ms. McCaffrey-Clark. She was a Chemistry major and basketball player at Merrimack College and also attended Brandeis University. Meeks has “always been a teacher.” She was a TA in high school, college, and grad school, but it wasn’t until she was in research that she realized her affinity for teaching and education. Compared to teaching at a college, Meeks notes that in high school, teachers have more time to “really get to know [their] students and make a connection with them and that makes the job more fulfilling and the experience more enriching.”
Meeks’s favorite chemistry topic is electrochemistry because she finds it fascinating that a chemical reaction is what is powering batteries. Outside of work, Meeks is, first and foremost, a mom of two. She is also an “exercise enthusiast” and loves to dance. She and her husband dance the salsa and West Coast swing, and she has even taught dance classes at CCHS. Over the summer, Meeks and her family enjoyed camping and hiking. They visited their family in England and hosted them as well. She and her family also have a pet hamster named Squeaks Meeks.
Meeks with her family (Photo courtesy of Rebecca Meeks)
During the Pandemic, Meeks spent a lot of time in nature and with family. She reflects, “it was nice having everybody home and not running the hamster wheel of life.” She expresses that the biggest challenge in post-pandemic CCHS is “helping students achieve pre-pandemic, pre-COVID expectations in the classroom.” It seems that CCHS has returned to normal, and to Meeks, “it feels weirdly like nothing has changed.”
This year, Meeks is looking forward to connecting with her students and collaborating with her colleagues. When speaking about CCHS, she notes that “it is such a wonderful community to work at” and that she is ecstatic to be back. We give Mrs. Meeks a warm welcome and wish her all the best for this year!
