By: Matthew Allana ’20

Ziana Bagot ’08 has stepped in for science teacher Sandra Wolchok’s biology classes while she is on medical leave. Bagot began teaching classes on Jan. 3, and Wolchok will return in early February.
After graduating from the school in 2008, Bagot attended Carnegie Mellon University and studied medicine. She said that she had always wanted to be a doctor.
“[Medicine] kind of runs in my family. … also since I started coming to Harvard-Westlake in seventh grade, I have always wanted to be a doctor, so it’s kind of been a life goal,” Bagot said.
According to her, her experience as a student at the school was enjoyable. She said that her favorite parts were retreats, field trips with the cross country team and the teachers.
“[The teachers] taught me a lot of the life skills … and study skills I still hold onto today,” Bagot said.
According to Bagot, now that she knows more about the role of teachers, she would advise her younger self to build stronger relationships with them.
“I would definitely encourage my ninth grade self to reach out more to the teachers, because being a teacher myself, I realize how much my role is to help [the students],” Bagot said.
According to Bagot, despite teaching here for a short time, she hopes to serve as a role model to students for what they can become after graduating.
“Despite how hard it may seem now, there is a silver lining at the end,” she said.
Bagot’s students said that they enjoy her class and look forward to becoming closer to her.
“I really love Ms. Bagot. She is extremely easy to meet and communicate with, and is great at helping me review when I don’t understand something. I can’t wait to get to know her better,” Jane Sidon ’20 said.