Ms. Tiffany Dix (Math) was testing for her blue belt in kenpo karate when she dislocated her left knee by performing a spinning kick. The test was already two hours in, so she did not want to retake the entire test again at a later date. “I stubbornly made it another hour, long enough to pass the test,” she said.

Manual’s newest Advanced Geometry and Advanced/Honors Pre-Calculus teacher is a Manual alumna. Graduating with the MST class of 2000, Dix was a National Achievement Semifinalist and earned 2 softball state championship rings from 1997 and 2000. But Ms. Dix had not always wanted to be a teacher.

“I remember telling my mom, after watching her spend late nights grading papers, that I would never want to be a teacher when I was in first grade,” she said. But while in college, she tutored middle and high school students. This helped her realize teaching was what she wanted to do, so she obtained a master’s degree in education.

In her spare time, Ms. Dix likes practicing many kinds of martial arts. In addition to the green striped blue belt in kenpo karate, she has a white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and studied capoeira (a Brazilian martial-arts/dance fusion) for a little over a year.

Aside from martial arts, Dix also enjoys reading, playing tennis, and hiking with her two beagles.

Accompanying the new school year were 11 new teachers in a range of magnets and academic departments. This story is part of a series about each of them.