Algebra and Geometry teacher Brittany West is a new but familiar face to Radford High School.

She has alumna status, graduating from Aliamanu Intermediate School and Radford High School’s Class of 2008.  

Shortly after commencement, her family moved to San Antonio, TX where she attended the University of Texas and earned a degree in education.  She taught Algebra 1 and Mathematical Models in Texas for one year before returning to Hawaii.

While teaching is West’s current career, she admits that when she was younger, she had dreams to be a dentist.

“I have a lot of the credits I need to become a dentist,” she said. “I would just need to go back to school and finish all the science courses to do so. So for me that could still one day be a possibility.”

West considers herself an open book and sees herself as “very easy going, understanding and compassionate.”

But, she attributes her military upbringing to how she lives her life.

She said, “I was raised by an Army dad and I don’t take excuses. I believe everyone is capable of learning, but it is on their own personal determination and motivation of whether or not they want to learn.”

Her experiences as a military dependent were always positive.

“I truly appreciate and admire my father for choosing to join the Army and serving for 26 years. He served in Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan totaling three years from home, over the course of six years,” West said.

She also empathizes with her students who are military dependents.

“My father unfortunately missed my entire senior year of high school and even my high school graduation,” she said, “but never for even a second was I angry or held resentment for this. I was proud of him for helping to defend our country and keep us safe, so that I could even have a graduation.”

West was born in Hawaii, and in addition to Texas, she lived in Missouri and Colorado.

West has several hobbies and interests.

“I love to play volleyball, go to the beach, watch Netflix, cook, bake, craft, knit, sew and I also love fixing things that are [broken] and would just be thrown away,” she said.

Returning to Hawaii and to her alma mater she said that “Radford [is] a very comforting and safe place to be.”