An ASA alum joins the staff!

Hello everyone! My name is DJ Needham, and I am the new co-teacher in the 3rd and 4th grades this year. I am very excited to be back at ASA after an 11 year break; My 4 sisters and I (Kayla ‘11, myself ‘13, Katherine ‘15, Abby ‘17, and Margaret ‘19) have all gone through ASA K-8!

I began school at Blessed Sacrament and attended BS until its doors closed at the end of my 3rd grade year. I then began attending ASA during its inaugural year in the fall of 2008, and I was a member of the 2013 graduating class. I then went on to attend West Catholic (2017 graduate), then University of Dayton (2021 graduate), and I just graduated from the University of Notre Dame this past summer with my M.Ed. While attaining my M.Ed. these past two years, I had the privilege of teaching middle school Social Studies at St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic School in Austin, Texas. I must say that it is a nice change of pace to live back in a part of the country where it rarely tops 88 degrees!

8th grade graduation with a few familiar faces

My 2023 8th grade class at St. Ignatius

It is both a thrill and a blessing to get the opportunity to teach alongside some of the teachers who taught me at ASA (Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Bowman, Mrs. Livingston, Mrs. Zimelis, Mrs. Davidson) and at West Catholic (Mr. Gietzen). 

In my spare time, I enjoy running, reading, spending time with my family, learning about history, and watching sports of all kinds–especially my beloved Michigan Wolverines, Detroit Red Wings, and Detroit Tigers.

When I think back to my past years of school, undoubtedly, my K-8 years have had the most lasting and indelible impact on me, and it is nothing short of a blessing to have the opportunity to play a small role in the lives of the ASA students; my memories of sitting in Mrs. Zimelis’ 5th Grade ELA class or Mrs. Livingston’s 6th Grade Math class are still as clear to me as if they occurred yesterday! Elementary and middle schools play such an instrumental role in the development of young minds and hearts, and I am so thankful that I have been brought back into this special community to do just that.

Thank you, once again, and I look forward to getting to know everyone!