As of July 2021, Brookfield East has a new associate principal, Mrs. Stephanie Hopkins, who is replacing Cheryl Schenk.

Although  Hopkins originally got her undergraduate degree in Nutritional Sciences, she  found herself wanting to work with children.”I think there’s more out there for me, and I realized I wanted to be in the schools,” says Hopkins. This compelled her to get her Master’s in School Counseling and brought her to her position as a counselor at Arrowhead Highschool. Afterwards, she went back to school for her administrative degree. “I’m always looking for ways I can have a bigger impact and ways I can continue to strive and help students find success in school and also out of school,” she says. 

Supporting students in all facets of high school life is no easy task, but Hopkin hopes that her position can allow her to “make everyone feel welcome, safe, and supported in the school setting.”  

Hopkins cites her experiences in school as part of why she enjoys “helping or supporting students in finding where they fit into high school.” In school, Hopkins was very involved in academics, athletics, and extracurriculars. “In the fall, I would run cross country, in the winter I would play basketball, in the spring I would play soccer,” she says, “I was [also] part of National Honor Society; taking a foreign language all 4 years.” 

Hopkins perhaps gets her passion for helping students from the teachers she had. “I remember this biology teacher who—[she] would get in front of us—and you could tell she lived, breathed, everything, she loved biology. And I wasn’t even majoring in biology, but I was excited about biology because she was excited about biology.” The lesson she took from that is: “if you can be passionate, if you can show people your love for what you’re doing, they’re going to get excited about it too.”

She sees a similar passion in educators at Brookfield East.  “I’ve been talking with students telling me all about these teachers that they loved and things that they’re excited about, clubs they’re involved in and I think it’s just really impressive,” she says. She continues, stating that this “positive school culture” is a large part of what drew her to Brookfield East.

For the coming school year, Hopkins recognizes that these times have been full of challenges for everyone. However, she wants people to remember that “it’s not about just checking the boxes of extra credit or getting a certain grade, but for all of us, students and staff, everyone is learning so many great lifelong lessons right now through the perseverance of working through this together.”