As a substitute teacher last year, Ms. Andretta Hanson is a familiar face to many in the BSM community, but this year she returns as a full-time building substitute who has taken over a sophomore theology seminar for Ms. Michelle LeBlanc this semester.

But Hanson’s connection to BSM goes even further. She attended BSM as an exchange student for her senior year; after which, she returned to her home country of Jamaica and started a year-long teaching program.

She then returned to the Twin Cities to begin a four year bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies at St. Thomas University and is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Leadership there.

In her life prior to teaching, she worked in the media industry as a television producer for 12 years. “Now I am teaching my second passion … I had a good connection with young people because I have always worked with youth groups and stuff like that and I enjoyed what I did,” Hanson said.

Since coming back to BSM after 20 years, she has observed that the building and the student body have both grown. “It didn’t look like this 10 years ago … the student body is larger and I’m looking at the effort that Benilde St. Margaret’s is putting in, in terms of more diversity,” Hanson said.

Her interests outside of school include travel, which she says she doesn’t do as much as she should. She also loves gardening, reading, and spending time with friends. But her work at BSM is really important to her. “I’m looking forward to my teaching experience and how much I can teach the students and how much I can learn from them,” Hanson said.