Victoria Hyman – Physics Curriculum Leader

Victoria Hyman, or Tori, as she prefers, is our new Physics Curriculum leader and teacher. Previously she worked in the Middle East and brought her dogs from the UK to Qatar and then on to Bangkok.

“I was in the Middle East for four years and before that the UK – my dogs came with us in each move. We have a border terrier named Pepper and our rescue dog Snoop who is a beagle basset cross. His body looks like the Hush Puppy logo but he has more of the beagle face. My students do enjoy their feedback when we have class online.”

“I am originally from Nottingham, where I completed my BS in Physics and a MS in Aerospace Propulsion. While there I did a lot of mentoring of underprivileged students and found it very fulfilling. After university, I went very briefly into the space industry but then moved into working as testing engineer for a few years, visiting materials manufacturing companies and testing their products. I found I wasn’t enjoying my job, so I thought back to the mentoring and how happy I had been doing it. So, I rethought my career path and trained as a teacher. All through school, and even in university, my dream was to be an astronaut. Eventually, though, I realised that engineering wasn’t my dream, but instead that my passion was working with other people.”

“I have always wanted to work in an IB school and to work with learners through the IB Diploma programme. Bangkok Patana is very well-known as a community that moulds creativity and intellectual curiosity in students. There is an emphasis on well-being – that success isn’t necessarily determined by school grades alone. This really drew me to Bangkok Patana, the mission and vision of the school of embracing diversity. Everything about the ethos sat within my philosophy.”

“I have received such a warm welcome from everyone; they’ve been incredibly supportive which has helped me settle quickly into the school and the Science Faculty. The Science Faculty is a gorgeous facility, when I first walked into the prep room for Physics I knew I was really going to enjoy this. Resources are so important for the students, and the ones here really make a teacher’s day! I feel very excited to work every day and I really appreciate that having come from a place when I didn’t feel that excitement. I can see how fortunate I am to have found it.”

“For me, it is important when I am teaching to just be myself. My aim is to show the pleasure I have in teaching a subject that I love and engaging that passion for Physics in my students. It is important to me to ensure that I am looking after myself, that I am in the right mindset, so that I am able to fulfill my role as a teacher. You try to bring out the best of yourself and your passion for the subject.”

“I wanted to be an astronaut all through school, when I was studying my GCSEs there was an English born astronaut who worked for NASA. His name Michael Foale, he was my inspiration for studying Physics at university. He wrote a book about the time he spent on the Russian Space Station, MIR. A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to meet him in the UK. It was amazing to meet my childhood hero, I have a photo of us together in my office. I know not everyone has a childhood hero and not everyone is lucky enough to meet their hero, but it was a real highlight for me to meet him in person and hear about his time in NASA and on MIR. It felt like something had gone full circle for me, I didn’t get to be an astronaut but I got to meet him.”