Skip To Main Content
Eanes ISD

Westlake HS EANESpiration Winners, 2022

Westlake HS EANESpiration Winners, 2022

Eanespiration Awards
2022 WHS EANESpiration Winners

Left to Right. Top Row: Principal Steve Ramsey, Solange Medina, Laura Potter, Nancy Misage, Judith Kimler, Carmine Castaldo, Superintendent Dr. Tom Leonard, David Chandler. Bottom Row: Christy Hagenau, Joy Eickhoff, Hollie Descheneaux, Alexandria Means, Gary Stein and Cadie Evans. Not pictured: Rebekah Harrell and Jason Van Meter.

Educational Impact 

Those who display leadership and commitment to the district by making a positive, noticeable and significant impact.

Mr. David Chandler, Teacher & Cross Country Coach
David Chandler is an amazing educator. Watching how he interacts with the track and cross-country athletes every day is so inspiring.  He shows empathy in all of the issues they bring to him, and truly listens to their struggles and challenges. He receives so much respect from those around him. He is someone that embodies his role here at Westlake. He definitely walks the walk and talks the talk by keeping himself healthy enough to get out there and really challenge his athletes to get better and to be competitors. His impact on students is life-changing.

Ms. Hollie Descheneaux, Speech Therapist
Hollie is an indispensable part of the special education team at Westlake. She has made so many programs accessible to students with speech impairments and educated countless adults on how to empower student voice. She has worked collaboratively with other educators to make it possible for students with speech devices to meaningfully participate in school activities including theater performances and cheering. She goes above and beyond when we need help, she covers classes when needed, she implements creative communication strategies, and uses various and unique channels to achieve communication goals. Our students would not be where they are without her!! 

Ms. Nancy Misage, STEM Educational Partner
With four new teachers added to the physics team, it was a large undertaking to get everyone acclimatized to the Westlake culture, embrace physics traditions, and adjust to new roles within the program. Nancy played a critical role in getting everyone through the school year and helped all navigate this change and find their own place in the program. Throughout this school year Nancy has been available for any and every question posed, whether it was how to teach a concept, help to improve lesson plans, or navigate administrative questions. Without the support of Nancy Misage, physics at WHS would not have reached nearly the same level of success. Thanks to Nancy, we had better labs and activities which leads to better engagement and student learning.  

Heroes 

Those who perform an outstanding achievement that brings prestige to Eanes ISD, or do something that goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Mr. Carmine Castaldo, Counselor
Since his first day in the Westlake counseling department, Carmine has been a ray of sunshine! He has been eager to help on campus during sub shortages and help the counselors out whenever needed. He jumps at the chance to meet students in the classroom and learn more about the school community. He has been able to meet with and support students when other counselors were not available, which has been such a huge help! Carmine is a great addition to the WHS community!

Ms. Joy Eickhoff, Special Ed Teacher
Joy is an amazing teacher, dyslexia practitioner, campus support specialist and team lead of the life skills department. She creates staff schedules (which change at a moment’s notice throughout the day), organizes and hosts PLC meetings for teachers, and organizes life skills meetings. She goes out of her way to hear everybody out, jump in to help, while also teaching her classes. She also has her own students to manage and attend meetings for, and does all of this with ease. While never asking for recognitions, she is organized, experienced, and has dedicated so much to our department that it is astounding. 

Ms. Cadie Evans, Athletic Bookkeeper
Cadie joined the Athletics team last summer and immediately made an impression. She has so many creative and impactful solutions for our programs and department. Her experience with the various booster clubs has been a gift to us all. She helped make the Chap Club All Access Sports Pass a reality for our students, which previously it had been a “wouldn’t it be great if?” concept. She greets every task with a “will-do” attitude and is pleasant and efficient at all times. Cadie is a true team player who adds immense value to the program. We are honored to have her at Westlake athletics.

Ms. Christy Hagenau, Swim & Dive Booster Lead Parent
Christy has worked tirelessly to support the swim and dive program for the past 4 years. This year, she was at every event, making sure the kids had all that they needed to be at their best. She attended all the travel meets to make sure the team had all their needs to be successful. She was instrumental in the success of both teams throughout championship season, and providing encouragement and direction for our families. She is a true hero! 

Ms. Judith Kimler, Bookkeeper
Judith has been an incredible help to so many. A couple of years ago, our TLC community was rocked by several difficult events. Judith, along with Diane, Christi and others in the front office made sure the staff was comforted as best they could with thoughtful offerings of food, cards and empathy. Judith also helps us make sure our accounting processes are followed so we can continue all of our traditions and celebrations, even with strict COVID parameters. Being physically separate across the street means we sometimes miss out on events or on-campus opportunities. Judith acts as a pro-active liaison to help keep TLC in the loop and involved. She goes the extra mile to make financial transactions as painless as possible. She is super supportive and a joy to work with.  

Mr. Gary Stein & Ms. Alexandria Means, ASL Teachers
Gary and Alexandria are great teachers who love their students, the Westlake community, and the greater Deaf community. In addition to tackling a new textbook series and teaching 6 ASL classes each this year, they both make sure the kids have a chance to be involved with the Deaf community in many ways. They often visit and zoom with other Deaf students, and they arrange meaningful, real-world language opportunities with the teachers and students from the Texas School for the Deaf. Even during pandemic teaching, they kept up this impactful aspect of their program and made sure their students had the opportunity to experience it, giving them the extraordinary normalcy that is the de-facto standard at Westlake HS, in spite of how easy it would have been to let it go. They didn't just keep going, they went with gusto, and this is why they are deserving of the Heroes Award.  

Mr. Jason Van Meter, Student Support Interventionist
On numerous occasions this year Jason has been integral in keeping watch over our campus. He has stepped up and noticed people that did not belong on campus or were not following protocols and either had them leave or assisted in getting them where they needed to be. This kind of attention makes our schools a safer place. We truly appreciate Jason for his thorough awareness at Westlake High School and helping keep our students and staff safe!  

Theatre Parent Volunteers: Rebekah Harrell, Solange Medina & Laura Potter
These ladies have been integral to the success of our Westlake Theatre program.  Ms. Harrell is the Westlake Theatre Booster President and she organizes volunteers for all the events, writes some killer emails among many other tasks. She navigates all her responsibilities with a remarkable sense of humor.  Ms. Medina is the Westlake Theatre Booster VP and food coordinator who tackles any task that comes her way. This includes costume laundry, dropping off snacks and driving all over town to find the perfect props.  No task is too small - she does it all! Ms. Potter has gone to great lengths to help the theatre department stay on top of finances and stay organized juggling all the receipts, requests and seemingly endless barrage of emails with grace and kindness. Her attention to detail is incredible and we cannot thank her enough for all of her hard work! These women are all Heroes to the Westlake Theatre program.