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Fr. Rich McAuliff, a Jesuit from the U.S. Northeast Province, has served in Micronesia for more than 30 years—in the Marshall Islands, in Chuuk, in Palau, and now in Yap, as Director of Yap Catholic High School. Fr. Rich also serves as the Vicar of Yap and is highly active in pastoral ministry.
Michael Wiencek returns to Yap Catholic High School for his seventh year as principal. Mr. Wiencek first came to Yap in 2012 when he was a member of the YCHS Volunteer Teacher Program for two years. After a year teaching at Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School, he returned to Yap to continue to help the school achieve its mission of educating students to live their faith in the service of God and others. In addition to being principal, Mr. Wiencek also teaches Junior Chemistry and Senior Calculus, as well as supplemental math to the underclassmen. He is excited to work with the faculty, staff, students, families, and supporters of YCHS to continue building a community of academic achievement and faith formation.
Gilippin Pongliyab, known to her students as Ms. Gail, found one of her true passions as a teacher at the Yap Catholic High School. Born and raised in Yap, Micronesia, Ms. Gail ventured far from home to gain new experiences and ideas after high school. In 2005, she acquired a BA in English from the University of California, Northridge. Since 2013, she’s had the fortune of working with dedicated staff and faculty at Yap Catholic High School. Ms. Gail teaches Literature to the Freshman and Senior classes. She also supervises the Yearbook Club. Starting in School Year 2021-2022, Ms. Gail is also the Vice Principal of YCHS.
Entering his fifth year with Yap Catholic High School as Director of College Counseling, Brian Southwick is excited and humbled for the opportunity to continue to prepare students at YCHS for their journey towards a post-secondary education. Prior to joining the school, Mr. Southwick served as Scholarship Coordinator for the State of Yap for almost eleven years. Born and raised in California, but calling Yap home for the last fifteen years, Mr. Southwick lives with his wife of twenty years and two children. In addition to college counseling duties, he teaches two classes: Freshmen Algebra I and Junior Algebra II.
Ms. Jermin joined Yap Catholic High School last school year as the Director of Finance. The new position was created the summer of 2021 to assist the school's growing financial responsibilities. As the Director of Finance, Ms. Jermin is responsible for the school's accounting & bookkeeping, tuition payments, and other administrative duties.
Ms. Emma joined the YCHS team in July of 2020. She’s excited and humbled by the opportunity to be working with YCHS and contributing to the high school her daughters are attending. Ms. Emma had been working with the Yap State Government for 7+ years before joining YCHS, and brings with her more than seven years of experience for the Administrative Assistant position. For the first semester of School Year 2022-2023, she will be on maternity leave; in the meantime, the YCHS community wishes her luck and rest!
Joshua Libyan Tun is excited for his fifth term at Yap Catholic High School after joining the team in 2018. Teacher Libyan teaches Civics & Geography to the Freshmen, Biology to the Sophomores, Algebra II Honors & Trigonometry to the Juniors, and Precalculus to the Seniors. He will be continuing with facilitating extracurricular activities with school clubs in AV, journalism, yearbook and debate. As Director of Development, Teacher Libyan is responsible for the school's social media platforms and other administrative duties. “Mr. Teacher” is looking forward to engaging and challenging YCHS students once again for another successful school year.
Demetria Mtag is from the Island of Yap. She graduated from Yap Catholic High School in the year of 2016. After two years at Creighton University, she is taking time off from college to save up money and be with her family before continuing with her college career. Miss Demi teaches Sophomore Math (Geometry and Geometry Honors) and Junior Literature.
Cyril Moofel, a YCHS graduate from the class of 2019, is now back on Yap after two years of attending the University of Guam in pursuit of his degree in engineering. He is taking some time off from college to work and to save up money while spending some time here with his family before he leaves again to continue his college career. Cyril, known as Mr. CJ on the YCHS campus, is currently the "Assistant Administrative Assistant" while Miss Emma is on maternity leave; he also covers Art class for the sophomore class.
Jalani Gootinmutnguy is an alumna of YCHS and a member of the Class of 2017, and is finally back in Yap after she graduated from the University of Scranton in May 2021 with a Bachelors of Science in Counseling and Human Services with a focus on mental health counseling. Miss Jalani is teaching English Language Arts for the juniors and Physics for the seniors. On top of her classroom duties, she is also the student counselor of YCHS.
