New Teacher Profile: Keon Horahan

Last year, Keon Horahan interned at Malden High from the start of the year until December break. This year, he is returning to teach Biology CP & Honors as well as Marine Biology.

Horahan grew up in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and after graduating high school, he attended Clemson University in South Carolina. He later went to Northeastern University, and after interning at a few different schools, he decided to teach at Malden High. He says that at some high schools, “you only see certain types of lessons or certain activities” but “at Malden High you can do anything you want.”

The biggest draw factor for Horahan to come back to Malden High was because “as a teacher, [he] likes having the flexibility to do things that [he] thinks are best for the students.” He says “there are some other schools that you [do not] have as much flexibility.” However, at MHS “[the teachers] have the flexibility to try things, try new things.”

Horahan said that originally, he “actually wanted to be a pharmacist after [he] went to college, but [he] had done some internships at schools and a lot of tutoring, and eventually [he] just realised that [he] love[d] learning  and [he] love[d] helping people learn things as well.” 

Horahan says that outside of school, he enjoys listening to music and plays the piano. He also enjoys crew, although he says that he “doesn’t do [crew] too much anymore, but in the summer, he likes to row.”

Horahan was a student-teacher for Kristen Kirby, a science teacher, last year. Kirby says that “instead of giving the student’s information, [Horahan] actually makes them think of things and process things on their own to come up with their own answers, as opposed to just being handed the information.” Kirby says that he is “nice, and he seems relaxed, easygoing, quiet.”

Shannon Votaw, a biology teacher, says that he is “very analytical with his approaches and he always pushes students to do critical thinking and think outside the box.” She added that “he looks at things from an application standpoint” by asking questions like “how does this apply to the real world?”

Principal Chris Mastrangelo said that during the hiring he “went through the same process as the rest of the candidates” and “quickly separated himself from the rest of the pack as the best candidate.” 

Horahan says that as a goal, he would like to see “improvement in [his] students when it comes to organization and professionalism.” He wants to see them “carry themselves with respect and [treat] everyone with respect.”