Faculty Spotlight - Jack Dwiggins
Since joining Westover in 2020, History teacher Jack Dwiggins has made a lasting mark on the academic experience by re-initiating Model UN as a club and outlet for students to explore global issues, sharpen their public speaking skills, and collaborate through diplomacy. As the Model UN advisor, he mentors delegates with enthusiasm and cultivates a space where critical thinking thrives.
Jack’s influence goes far beyond club meetings—he inspires a genuine love of learning and helps students develop the analytical tools they’ll carry for life. For all that he does, Westover’s community is deeply grateful.
Get to Know Jack in His Own Words
Favorite Westover meal? Frugal
Favorite Westover tradition? Faculty Germans
Where is your classroom? Room 28
Favorite Westover tradition? Faculty Germans
Where is your classroom? Room 28
Do you live on campus? No
What is your favorite thing about working at Westover? Earlier this year, one of my 9th grade students said “Westover is a community, not a competition,” and to me that just about sums it up perfectly. At Westover, we learn together and grow together, and it’s not about one-upping each other.
What is the highlight of your year so far? A highlight has been showing classic movies in the dorms on weekends (in addition to advising Model UN, I also teach a film history class!). I especially loved having a good crowd of students come out to watch Rear Window – it was a lot of fun seeing how they reacted to this movie.
Why did you revive Westover’s Model UN (MUN) Program? At the time I revived the program, I had been at the school for two years, and both of those years had been heavily affected by the pandemic. There were seniors and juniors that year whose high school experience had been completely shaped by the pandemic. I really wanted to give them a special opportunity, and I thought nothing would be better than a trip to DC where they’d get to work with thousands of other top students in the nation who are just as curious and just as passionate as they are. I also have to give a lot of credit to my club heads at that time – Emma, Natalie, and Vivian. The energy they gave to the club that year played a big role in getting the program off the ground.
What growth have you seen in the program and its students since becoming the MUN advisor? The program has grown to the point that we now offer our own conference – WOWMUNC (Westover’s Wonderful Model UN Conference). We invite students from other schools to participate in addition to opening this conference up to anyone at Westover, even if they’ve never been in the club before. I organize it with my club heads and they act as committee chairs. This year will be the second WOWMUNC, and it will be on Sunday, April 27. We try to focus on gender and women’s issues, and this year our topic is gender disparities in education access.
What skills do you hope students gain after participating in Westover’s MUN? Model UN combines social studies, current events, and a little bit of drama. Students gain research skills and learn how to balance multiple perspectives when discussing an issue. But then when they go stand in a room full of 100+ other students that they’ve never met before, they have to figure out how to grab and keep their attention, so MUN is also a great way to start building confidence in public speaking. Most importantly, Model UN sparks curiosity as students encounter new ideas and find new lifelong passions.
What is a book you would recommend to the Westover community? I’ll just go with my most recent read – Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman. It’s an epic historical novel about Russia during World War II, and it was my Spring Break read. I thought it was a great humanistic examination of life under totalitarianism.
What inspires you as a teacher? Watching my students grow and change, and getting to see what amazing, thoughtful, and accomplished people they’ve become after graduating.
What is a topic that you could talk about for hours? Road safety and highway design! I have many opinions about Connecticut’s highways and I am always eager to share them.
Be Boldly You
Westover School admits students of any race, color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, or disability to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. As a gender-diverse girls school, Westover welcomes applicants and students who are assigned female at birth and/or identify as girls. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational policies, admissions and financial aid policies, and athletic or other school-administered programs.