The Hiking Historian
Mike Hopkins is quite a goal setter. After graduating college, Hopkins completed one of his largest life goals by hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. He completed all 2,168.1 miles of trail in only a few months. After that trek, Hopkins’ next goal is conquering his new career at Trinity Prep.
Hopkins has always been a Florida man. He was born in Winter Springs and attended Winter Springs High School.
He ran cross country and played lacrosse for his local team. Hopkins attended Florida State University and earned his a bachelor’s degree in History and Religion.
Hopkins is an avid outdoors aficionado. In addition to his Appalachian Trail hike, Hopkins frequently goes backpacking and camping.
Hopkins is married to wife, Jessica. They don’t have any children, but enjoy spending time with their dog, Sadie.
Before coming to Trinity, Hopkins taught as a substitute teacher in the Seminole County School District. In addition, he coached Varsity Lacrosse at Winter Springs High School. At Trinity, Hopkins teaches World History to freshmen and Honors Economics to juniors and seniors.
Hopkins hopes to give students the opportunity to suceed by contributing to their education.
“I think that contributing to and helping guide young people in their education and helping set them up for success in their future is really important, and that’s something I’m passionate about,” Hopkins said.
Daugherty’s Teaching Travels
Rita Daugherty’s journey to Trinity Prep hasn’t been a short one. Orlando is the seventh place she has lived during the past 20 years. She has taught in North Dakota, California, Colorado, Maryland and Virginia. Daugherty also had two children along the way: Claudia, now a college student at the University of South Florida, and Julian, a senior at Timber Creek High School.
Daugherty has traveled all across North and South America learning about Spanish culture. A native Panamanian, Daugherty has traveled from Florida to California, Mexico to Wisconsin, and everywhere in between.
Daugherty first went to a small college by the Panama Canal before moving to America. She majored in Foreign Language Education at USF after switching from pre-medical school. Daugherty met her husband, a Naval Officer, in Calculus class and married him in 1991.
“I started doing pre-med, but it was a little too difficult for me,” Daugherty said. “I thought, why not education? My mother was a teacher, and my grandmother was a teacher and an administrator.”
At Trinity, Daugherty teaches Spanish 1, Honors Spanish 3 and Advanced Language and Culture.
Daugherty enjoys teaching language because she can give students the ability to talk to people of other cultures around the world. Her goal is for her pupils to be able to help others who cannot speak English. She loves talking to students currently taking her course outside of the classroom.
Daugherty expressed her excitement for her new school.
“Everything is good. Everything is fresh, like a clean slate,” she said.
Bases loaded with Berryhill
Trevor Berryhill has been committed to baseball since early childhood. A Division 1 collegiate athlete at the University of South Carolina Upstate, he brings his dedication and love of the game to Trinity Prep as the new Middle School Dean of students.
“I have either played with or coached 6 major league baseball players,” Berryhill said.
Berryhill is also the Head Varsity Baseball coach and 7th grade P.E. coach. Before coming to Trinity Prep, Berryhill was the Athletic Director and Head Baseball Coach at the Father Lopez Catholic School for three years. He hopes to find out what makes each of his students tick so he can better teach them. He enjoys teaching because he likes helping people and seeing each of his students learn.
“I hope all of the 7th grade boys have fun in my P.E. class as well as become confident in themselves,” he said.
A dual athlete, Berryhill also played basketball in high school. When he is not hitting home runs, he likes to watch the University of Florida’s sports teams. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and his one-year-old daughter.
Farmer the Flexible Problem Solver
Melanie Farmer, the new 9th grade English teacher and forensics coach, is an expert of the meditative art of yoga. She has been practicing and teaching yoga for 8 years. She also enjoys any kind of creative writing.
Her favorite parts of teaching are interacting with students and problem solving.
“[Students can] psych themselves out of believing they can do things,” Farmer said.
After graduating from Davidson College in North Carolina, she worked at a percussion theatre in various roles, dealing with directing and producing.
A Trinity Prep graduate, she participated in speech, theater and Skylight, the online literary magazine. An excellent public speaker, Farmer is also the speech coach. Her best memories at this school are from her extensive time on the Forensics team.
“I want to revive the team spirit on the speech team,” Farmer said.
She recalls her time at Trinity Prep and enjoys being back at her former high school this year. She hopes to teach public speaking and help her students succeed.
