Teachers Guy Oling, Susan Hontalas and music accompanist Kevin Imbimbo will be retiring from Aragon after the 2020-2021 school year.
Oling, a physical education teacher and head golf coach, plans to retire to make time for travel and relaxation. During his time at Aragon, Oling especially valued his relationships between colleagues.
“A real value of teaching is the learning situation for the students but also the interaction and collegiality of the teachers, administrators [and] coaches,” Oling said.
Throughout his years at Aragon, Oling taught U.S. history, U.S. government and Earth Science, ultimately switching to PE in 2005. He also held the position of dean of students for some years. Outside of the classroom, he has been a championship winning coach of swim, soccer and golf.
“Most of the goals that I set [have been] accomplished,” Oling said. “Being able to work with students has been successful not only in the classroom, but [also] in the field.”
Hontalas has taught classes at Aragon since 1999, including Foods and Nutrition, Culinary Arts and Independent Living, where students learn to support themselves.
“My biggest goal was to be a life skills teacher, and it was really important to me to teach students life skills,” Hontalas said. “I feel that I’ve been successful in that.”
In September of 2019, Hontalas broke her arm, which led her to consider retirement since she wanted to spend some time traveling. The uncertainty of the future was what ultimately caused Hontalas to end her teaching career.
“It really was breaking my arm [that] spurred me on to thinking, ‘What if something else happens to you, and you won’t be able to do what you wanted to do?’” Hontalas said.
Her initial plan was to retire after the 2019-2020 school year. However, many of her students were looking forward to taking Culinary Arts after Hontalas had convinced them to enroll. So she decided to stay? Needs resolving
Imbimbo is the piano accompanist for the Aragon ensemble and music classes. He is retiring primarily because of the uncertainty of the pandemic.
“There were so many things up in the air, even at Aragon,” Imbimbo said. “I wasn’t sure [how long] my position as accompaniment would still be there or just how soon we will be able to make music in person.”
Imbimbo plans to continue his music career in Las Vegas and to travel to some of the places that the choir has taken trips to in the past. Music classes online lack the connection between teachers and students that are formed through in-person classes and collaboration.
“I’m really proud of the music program [here],” Imbimbo said. “What the teachers have done over the years [at Aragon] and having been a part of it has been a joy and a blessing.”
Administrative assistant Becky Foster has known Oling for years working at Aragon.
“He adds some nice jovial lightness and always has very positive things to say about staff and his students,” said Foster.
Oling coached freshman Grace Tao on the Aragon Golf team this spring season.
“He’s always been very encouraging,” Tao said. “Especially just before a match, [he] helps dissolve your nerves and make sure that you go out there and do your best.”
Sophomore Sanjna Hegde is the president of the Baking Club and has worked closely with Hontalas.
“I really hope that she continues her love for cooking and baking,” Hegde said. “She is really passionate about what she does, and I hope she continues doing what she loves.”
Freshman Mia Weinberger is part of the Women’s Choir at Aragon and has worked with Imbimbo virtually this school year.
“He’s very funny, and he likes to tell a lot of stories which [are] really nice to hear,” Weinberger said. “I would love to get to know him more, but I’m happy that he’s able to move on with his life [beyond Aragon].”
The coronavirus and the uncertainty of the future has helped lead to Hontalas’s, Oling’s and Imbimbo’s retirement. These teachers have positively impacted Aragon, and have made lasting relationships with the Aragon community.
