Welcome back to the second round of staff and teacher features. We will be presenting to you Mrs. Kelly Hodge, Millikan’s new Vice Principal, and Mr. Mike Bradecich, Millikan’s new Drama Director. 

To start us off we would like to welcome Mrs. Hodge who is the new Vice Principal, a position LBUSD recently reintroduced into the high school system this past year. At Millikan, she oversees the MBA Pathway, the Math Department, and the Performing Arts Department, and she works closely with the teachers and counselors to support students.

Hodge has an undergrad degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Southern California (USC), a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and a History teaching credential from California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH).

Her career in education began in the Long Beach Unified School District when she was a college aide at Hamilton Middle School. She then became a third and fourth-grade teacher at Starling Elementary for seven years. Afterward, she transitioned to high school and became a long-term substitute at Wilson High School, then moved on to Jordan High School for six and a half years teaching AP Statistics and Geometry. She then transferred to Poly High School as an Advanced Placement (AP) Coordinator and was transferred to Cams High School where she was also Assistant Principal. From Cams she was transferred here to Millikan.

“My goal here at Millikan is to create identity-safe environments where all students feel welcome, seen, heard, and supported,” said Hodge. “Here everyone works together and is on the same page when it comes to these positive changes. One of my favorite things about Millikan is this, everyone supports one another and it gives it that family feel. We have some people who are Rams through and through, we are such a large comprehensive [school, and] we have a very close community.”

In her free time, she enjoys riding motorcycles, stand-up paddle boarding, biking, yoga, tennis, traveling, and trying new things. A quote she lives by is “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can,” by Arthur Ashe.

She encourages students to take a pause when things are overwhelming, breathe, and seek support from those around them. We appreciate her work and can’t wait to see what the year may bring!

Next, we have Mr. Bradecich, the new head of the Drama department. He teaches Intro to Theater, Intermediate Theater, Advanced Theater, and Play Production classes. Among his many responsibilities, he is in charge of directing the fall play and is the coach of Millikan’s Improvisation team. Bradecich works hand in hand with the choir, band, and dance directors in mounting the spring musical. 

Mr. Bradecich attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where he started as a film major and switched to creative writing his junior year. He met people who were part of the theater program, which was where his love for acting was immersed. Broderick graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. 

Later he achieved a Career and Technical Education credential in Arts, Media, & Entertainment. Since 2005 he has been working as a full-time actor doing commercials, plays, and TV shows. Before teaching at Millikan, he was a substitute teacher in the Long Beach Unified School District. He currently has great plans and ideas for the Drama department.

“One of my biggest goals is to make the Drama Program a welcoming and inclusive place for people of every background and identity. We talk a lot in class about the fact that drama can be a very inclusive space and a place where people can tell their stories,” said Bradecich. “But it also has the potential to be a very exclusive space where not everyone feels welcome, seen, or represented. A big part of my job is making sure that drama at Millikan is inclusive.”

He has come to love the positive environment Millikan offers. “My favorite thing about Millikan is the students! I have three kids of my own, and the two oldest are in 12th and 9th grade, so this is an age group that I have a lot of experience with and that I’m a big fan of,” said Bradecich. 

In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family playing board games, listening to music, and watching films. One of Bradecich’s hobbies includes making music, computer animation, and like all parents, being his children’s personal Lyft driver.

We wish Mr. Bradecich the best of luck and can’t wait to see what he and the Drama department have in store for us.