At first, Danielle Iseli tried everything to avoid becoming a teacher.

“I fought it pretty hard,” she said.

After graduating from the Linfield College in McMinnvile, Oregon, Iseli ventured into a series of different professions, including entrepreneurship and accounting.

“I bought a snack food business right out of undergrad,” she said.

Iseli soon realized that running a business all by herself was not only strenuous, but also absolutely terrifying.

“I sold it within a year,” she said with a laugh.

Nearly five years after graduating college, Iseli went to the University of Montana to receive her M.Ed. in mathematics.

“I’ve always loved education,” Iseli said. “It was always in the back of my mind, but it really wasn’t until I had tried everything else.”

She describes herself as that annoying older sister who forced her brother to fill out worksheets just so she could check them. Originally wanting to pursue subjects in the science field, she soon encountered obstacles.

“I really wanted to get into science, but with all the lab sciences, you have to write a lab report,” Iseli said. “Writing papers is not my thing.”

Fortunately, after much deliberation, Iseli contrived a foolproof plan. By majoring in math, Iseli could continue conducting the scientific aspects of mathematics without having to write papers.

Iseli was also the head coach of tennis at her previous school in California, Xavier College Preparatory High School. She successfully led her girls’ doubles team to division victory in the Desert Valley League tournament. She may coach tennis at SJS as well.

Iseli seems to have already grown fond of her new school. “It’s really beautiful–when you look this way,” she said, angling her head away from the construction area.