“It’s always a blast on campus!” Ms. Yoo reminisced. Around campus, Math Teacher Ms. Taylor Yoo can be seen with her students wearing a bright smile. Deeply involved with the well-being of students in middle school, Ms. Yoo teaches Math 2E and 3, serves as middle school (MS) ASBC sponsor, and coaches MS tennis. Beyond that, Ms. Yoo has also been an advisor for both 7th and 8th graders. This school year is her sixth at Bishop’s. Ms. Yoo actually came to San Diego for her husband’s residency at UCSD, and will now be leaving San Diego for her husband’s medical fellowship in arthroplasty, or joint replacement, at the University of Texas at Houston. Bishop’s and its community will miss her deeply.

For many students that come to Bishop’s in middle school, Ms. Yoo is their first introduction to how the math curriculum functions. Adelaide Kessler (’25) recounted how Ms. Yoo would encourage students through problems they may have had trouble with. “Ms. Yoo made [math] special,” Adelaide said. Zoe Yi (‘25), another former student of Ms. Yoo added, “She was always patient with us [students], and would explain a concept until we understood it.” 

Many students also enjoy the fun activities in her classroom. Recently, Ms. Yoo hosted an extravagant math-related challenge for her students, who had to figure out how heavy the knight statues around campus would weigh if they were made of gold. Afterwards, students took the chance to figure out how much money they would make from selling these golden statues. Grayson Blatt (’27) mentioned, “This activity was a sensible way to use math.” He got to think about the knight statues that he had never noticed before. David Beamer (‘28) also enjoyed the activity, and shared that it was an amazing experience. Posters detailing this fun exercise hung in her classroom for quite a while now.

Anything can be an entertaining process with Ms. Yoo at the helm, even math competitions. Mira Singh (’25) still remembers how much fun she had making her MathCounts video in 2E. MathCounts is a math competition where students make a video on a scenario that a particular math problem might occur in, and then show how to solve it. Adelaide remembered, “Ms. Yoo supported us so much by putting up with our video, and offering to be in it. She’s such a fun person who cares so much about teaching and her students.” She provided students with microphones, tripods, and comforting words of advice. “I still have the video,” Mira laughed. Another student-favorite math competition is the Mathematical Olympiad for Elementary and Middle School (MOEMS),  a math competition where each middle school advisor competes to get the highest score. The advisory with the best  results gets a taste of Math Teacher Ms. Catherine Beamer’s baked goods, including the teachers. Ms. Yoo described, “Ms. Beamer’s baked goods are the best!”

In addition to the sweets, Ms. Yoo loves the Math Department. She said, “I have to give the math department a shout-out because they are some of the best colleagues!” The math department will miss Ms. Yoo dearly. Ms. Beamer expressed, “Ms. Yoo is calm, patient, and full of kindness.” 

These traits have left a deep impact on the Bishop’s community, especially middle schoolers. Being the ASBC sponsor, Ms. Yoo helps set up events in the middle school. “Watching the preparation for the Middle School Dance reminded me about all the things I will miss about Middle School,” Ms. Yoo said. 

Ms. Yoo’s favorite place on campus is definitely her classroom, which she wants to remember even after she leaves. Her room is deeply personalized with unique touches from her previous advisories, as well as a mini fridge for snacks. Grayson remembered, “If we got to her class early, she would have a basketball hoop where [Ms. Yoo] would let us use her mini basketball.” She also has a tennis racket sticker on her classroom door–– an ode to her time coaching middle school tennis in the spring. 

For the students who have yet to meet Ms. Yoo, there’s still hope that she will be back after a year of absence! In the meantime, though, the entire bishop’s community will miss Ms. Yoo, and wish her luck in her future endeavors.