Austin Farwell – US Drama Teacher

Mr. Austin Farwell, a US drama teacher, teaches Theater Arts, Honors Acting 1 and

 Honors Acting 2. Prior to coming to TAS, Mr. Farwell taught at The American School Foundation in New Mexico and Louisiana State University. 

Mr. Farwell believes that students should have fun while learning. He likes to use the idea of “flow psychology,” which helps students be in a state of intense engagement while also being content with how and what they are learning. 

Mr. Farwell enjoys exploring new restaurants, traveling and playing sports like flag football in his free time. “We like to travel a lot and are looking forward to exploring Taiwan more,” he said.

Irish Farley – US Academic Support Teacher

Dr. Irish Farley is a US academic support teacher. Originally from Denver, Colorado, she taught in Tianjin, China for the past six years. Dr. Farley enjoys watching “The Bachelor” in her free time and is trying to start hiking more often. 

Coming from a relatively small school in China, Dr. Farley’s transition to TAS has been a bit difficult. “There are so many teachers and students [at TAS], so it’s a lot to learn in a short amount of time,” she said. 

Despite teaching for over twenty years, Dr. Farley believes her teaching style has remained the same. She continues to learn about teaching pedagogy and improves her craft each year. 

Bea Chang – US English Teacher

Ms. Bea Chang is a US English teacher. She currently teaches English 9 and Honors Asian Literature. Prior to coming to TAS, she worked at Fuhsing Private School. Ms. Chang enjoys playing basketball, exercising, reading, writing and hanging out with friends during her free time. She is also coaching the varsity girl’s basketball team this year. 

A part of Ms. Chang’s teaching philosophy is trying to be more creative and engage students in both the learning and teaching materials. “I’m encouraging students to be curious about the world …  and [figure] out ways to articulate their opinions and thoughts,” Ms. Chang said. 

Ms. Chang loves to carry her favorite stuffed animal, Stitch, to all of her classes. “Students like him most of the time,” Ms. Chang said. 

Luke DallaGrana – Gr. 5-12 Band Teacher

Mr. Luke DallaGrana is a 5-12 band teacher. Before coming to TAS, he taught in Vietnam for 10 years. This will be his 14th year teaching music. 

Mr. DallaGrana enjoys the relaxation and relief of playing music and the special connections people can form with it. “It feels like my body is cleansed,” Mr. DallaGrana said. “Music has also always been really important in making connections, in school and out of school.” 

Some challenges Mr. DallaGrana has encountered so far moving to Taiwan include settling into his new apartment. Mr. DallaGrana struggled to get everything in order due to the shipping and language barriers. “A lot of people speak English [in Taiwan] but it’s been a bit of a shock how little communication comes in English,” he said. 

Mr. DallaGrana’s teaching philosophy is teaching compassion through music so that both the students and the teacher are on a musical journey together. “The idea of equity, it’s like, we’re in this together,” Mr. DallaGrana said. He also believes that through this mindset of teaching music, everyone can learn to be better people: better listeners, better communicators and better helpers. “We can learn dedication, persistence, and all these attributes compile to a successful, kind and generous person,” he said. 

Andy Taylor – US Performing Arts Teacher

Mr. Andy Taylor is a US performing arts teacher. Originally from the U.K., Mr. Taylor has worked in a British international school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the last seven years. “What I love about teaching music is usually the students that are doing it. They love doing it,” Mr. Taylor said. Teaching allows him to see the level of growth his students achieve and embark on a learning journey alongside them. 

Although moving from a British education system to an American education system was a big change for Mr. Taylor, he is excited to teach at TAS this year. He likes how the class systems offer so many opportunities for different course choices and how each class period is longer, which enables him to spend more time teaching music. 

Mr. Taylor likes scuba diving, going to the gym, exploring new restaurants and exploring the city and its people in his free time.

Madeline Horan – US English teacher

Ms. Madeline Horan teaches English 9 and Honors English 10. Prior to teaching in Taiwan, Ms. Horan taught English literature in Japan for seven years.

Ms. Horan moved to Taiwan in late July. She faced difficulties transitioning to the hot weather in Taiwan and overcoming language barriers since she does not have many language skills in Mandarin.

Despite the challenges, Ms. Horan is excited to teach poetry and Shakespeare’s works this year. “I can have students use [their] personal narrative voice, [and they] can be creative with [their] writing so that [they] can have emotional reactions to what [they] read,” she said. 

Ms. Horan enjoys running, playing the piano and taking photos with her Nikon camera during her free time.

Chris Bryant – US Assistant Tech Theater Manager 

Mr. Chris Bryant is the US assistant tech theater manager. Originally from the south coast of England, Mr. Bryant came to Taiwan in 1997 with a circus. Mr. Bryant has worked in theater since he was 14, and prior to his current position, he was a theater technician with TAS for eight years. 

In his role, Mr. Bryant has had the opportunity to work with many of the members of our community. “There’s lots of cool people to work with and people from all over the world, both faculty and students,” he said. “The schedules are pretty hectic … And there’s a lot of things happening at the same time.” 

Despite the hectic schedule, he is currently working on props and costumes for the US drama and dance shows. “I would like for everyone that reads this to come to our shows when they are on stage,” he said.

Jim Farley – US History Teacher

Mr. Jim Farley is a US history teacher. Before moving to Taiwan, he taught at international schools in South Korea and China. 

Coming from a much smaller school, Mr. Farley found it a small challenge to navigate around the large campus. “I was supposed to give a tour to ninth graders and I think they knew the school better than I did,” he said. “But most of my experience so far have been incredibly rewarding, much more so than challenging.” 

His students have already impressed Mr. Farley. “The students have been outstanding, curious, really hard working, but also inquisitive,” he said.

Mr. Farley is looking forward to assisting juniors with the year-long research paper. “I love the beginning of a research project, exploring topics, narrowing down research questions and figuring out what is something you want to become an expert in,” he said. “I’m very excited about the start of that process and seeing the direction students take.” 

Melinda Berry – US Math Teacher 

Mrs. Melinda Berry is a US math teacher. Throughout her 16 years of teaching, she has taught in her hometown of San Diego and in Guadalajara, Rome, Beijing, Saigon and Sofia before moving to Taiwan. Although most of her family is based in the U.S., she prefers to teach internationally. “International students are very different in their world views compared to students in the U.S., so I really enjoy working with them,” she said. 

Being in an unfamiliar setting doesn’t prove to be much of a difficulty either. “I’ve enjoyed the experiences of working in a foreign land while doing something I’m familiar with,” she said. “I find living in a community where people don’t speak English or where I have to struggle a bit to figure it out very exciting.” 

Mrs. Berry believes strongly that all students have the ability to be successful in her math classes. One of her passions in teaching is to help students overcome challenges so they can grow to become more confident in their math skills. She hopes to be a guiding figure for those of her students that may need a bit more support and encouragement. 

Mrs. Berry enjoys baking desserts and sharing them with her colleagues in her free time. 

Sean Huang – US Comprehensive Counselor 

Ms. Sean Huang is a US Comprehensive Counselor. She is also an alumna, having attended TAS for high school. 

Ms. Huang started out her career studying psychology and education but soon realized she had a passion for working with students. She decided to pursue a graduate degree in School Counseling and started working in schools soon after. Ms. Huang counseled in Baltimore City, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China before returning to TAS. 

A word of advice Ms. Huang has for students is that you only live once. “As teenagers, we often think that we’ll get the opportunity to do things later. I can do it in college. I can do that after I graduate college,” she said. “But no, time runs away. So anything that you want to try, any classes that you really want to take, just take it.”

Some of her interests include boxing, going to museums and trying new restaurants.  

Brian Mutschler – US Health/PE Teacher 

Mr. Brian Mutschler is a US health and PE teacher this year. Before coming to TAS, Mr. Mutschler taught at many different schools, including Concordia International School Shanghai, The American School in Japan, Singapore American School and Walworth Barbour American International School in Israel.

Mr. Mutschler’s long history of teaching and experience in so many different countries has given him insight into varying cultures and the effect that culture has on schools. “Living in different countries [definitely] changes your perspective a lot,” he said. “I also find that schools take on a lot of the country that they are in.”

Mr. Mutschler’s teaching philosophy has grown significantly over the course of his teaching career, especially due to having children. “When I had kids it totally changed my idea of what it was like to be a teacher because I could understand what it was like to be a parent,” he said. 

Ron Reduta – US Assistant Athletic Director / Sports Information Specialist

Mr. Ron Reduta is the US assistant athletic director and sports information specialist. Originally from the Bay Area, San Jose, California, this is Mr. Reduta’s fourth year in Taiwan. Mr. Reduta was a parent and coach at TAS before becoming an official member of the TAS faculty. 

As a full-time faculty member, Mr. Reduta hopes to have a positive impact on students. “[I want to] help them grow both athletically and mentally,” he said. Mr. Reduta believes that sports can help teach valuable skills and build character. “My favorite thing about sports is it teaches a lot of life lessons,” he said. He encourages everyone to try and participate in sports because of the many benefits that come with staying physically active. 

Taylor Stevens – US Assistant Athletic Trainer

Mr. Taylor Stevens is the US assistant athletic trainer. After receiving his masters in the U.S., Mr. Stevens worked in China for Major League Baseball. After the pandemic, he went back to the U.S. before coming to Taiwan. “I had some friends who had worked here and knew that it was a great place to be and so I was excited to apply to it,” he said. 

“Everybody [at TAS has] been great, everybody’s so helpful and nice,” he said. “Anything I need somebody is willing to help me with.” Mr. Taylor also noted that he thinks the location of TAS is great, and he is excited to drive to the beaches in Taiwan and explore some of the hikes around the island.

“I hope that I am a resource for students to come to whenever they have injuries or questions about injuries, that I can help them maintain their health and wellness and just be a great resource for their health,” he said.