Jan. 21 was the first day of employment for the new college counselor, Dori Ryken, who is covering the position for Melissa Nagar while she is on maternity leave.

Ryken previously worked as a college counselor for 15 years at Mercy High School in San Francisco. Prior to working at Mercy, she worked for the Marin County School District, going from school to school in the role of nurse.

Initially, Ryken discovered the position of a college counselor while working at Redwood High School. “I was working at Redwood High School at an intro position for a year as a school nurse, I wandered up into the college and career center and said ‘wow this kinda looks like fun’.”

Through her curiosity, Ryken pursued a college counselor course at UC Berkeley, where soon after, she took volunteering positions at Washington High School, which later led to positions at Mercy, and now, Riordan.

Another new addition to Riordan’s faculty is Dr. John Elliot, who has taken the position of World Literature teacher.

Thus far, Dr. Elliot has worked in the school for a short while, and being his first time teaching 10th graders, he has had a varying, yet pleasant experience.

Previously, Elliot has taught in a German boarding school where he worked in IB (similar to Advanced Placement), the University of Michigan, Boston University, and has also been a professor in Shanghai and Japan, as well as an invited professor in Korea.

Given his diverse teaching background, his work as an instructor has proven to be liked by many.

“He is undoubtedly very intelligent in almost any field in literature,” stated Marco Aguirre-Celi ’21.

Dr. Elliot stated, “Most of us who go into teaching see the value in teaching as somethingthat is more complex and more meaningful than, say, a job in a company.”

Dr. Elliot has currently taken up a temporary position here at Archbishop Riordan, yet in such little time has made a difference within the school’s community.