Ms. Talia Nagatoshi is a new third grade teacher at ‘Iolani School. She was encouraged to work at ‘Iolani partly because her husband, Mr. Chase Wiggins, is also a teacher at the school and partly because she heard of the great community ‘Iolani has. She transitioned from substituting to teaching full-time after taking a break during the pandemic. Ms. Nagatoshi believes a good teacher is one who is flexible and able to relate to their students. Part of this flexibility comes into play when Ms. Nagatoshi learns new things from her third graders, saying that “I love teaching Lower School because little kids are high on life. They’re really happy! So they teach you to be grateful and happy for the things you already have.” When asked where she saw herself in 10 years, Ms. Nagatoshi said, “I’m super happy here! I can definitely see myself in ten years, still being here. I’m happy where I am.”  

Outside of teaching Ms. Nagatoshi spends much of her time on hands-on creative projects like crocheting and sewing. She also has two dogs, both pitbull mixes, who she describes as “the babies” in her and Mr. Wiggins’ lives. Ms. Nagatoshi described herself using these three words: “neat-freak, creative and punctual.”