While it may seem like materials for labs appear magically in a classroom before a lab, it is actually the work of Lynn DeMichele, Hackley’s lab assistant. As a lab assistant, Ms. DeMichele helps the science teachers by ordering supplies and equipment, setting up labs beforehand, and cleaning up afterwards. She mainly works with the Chemistry and Biology teachers, but also helps out the Middle and Lower School teachers. It’s not a job for the weak-hearted, or the weak-stomached: the fridge is full of dead animals for dissecting and one of the labs requires Ms. DeMichele to blend a cow liver so specific enzymes in it can be used. She said emphatically that it “was the most disgusting thing ever.”

Ms. DeMichele took an interesting path to the Hilltop. In 1995, Hackley was having trouble finding a lab assistant and a former lab assistant and Hackley teacher suggested she apply for the job. “She said to me, ‘you’re really good at following a recipe, you should be a lab assistant.’ So I came and Mr. Variano hired me on the spot,” said Ms. DeMichele laughingly. She has worked at Hackley since then and absolutely loves it. Her job combines many of her passions, like biology and gardening, and she has become good friends with her colleagues.

Before Ms. DeMichele worked at Hackley, she had a very different job: a Broadway seamstress. She travelled across the country with the musicals Annie  and Evita and went on an international tour of Sophisticated Ladies, stopping in major cities like Paris and Tokyo. But Ms. DeMichele started her work close to home; her first job was at the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford.

She loved the excitement of travelling with the plays and she loved sewing, something her mother taught her as a child. However, the constant travelling was not conducive to having a family, so she left show biz and settled down. Working as a lab assistant, only a part-time job, still allows Ms. DeMichele time to use her talents in other ways. Biology teacher Tessa Johnson proudly displayed a purse that was made of recycled materials and a stuffed animal, both of which were created by Ms. DeMichele. As much as she loved working as a seamstress, Ms. DeMichele absolutely loves working at Hackley; “I’m not going anywhere for a while” she said.