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Rockhurst Welcomes New Faculty & Staff Members
The Rockhurst High School community welcomes eight new faculty/staff members for the 2024-25 academic year. Learn about each of these Hawklet educators below.
Ben Calvano joins Rockhurst as a full-time teacher in the Mathematics Department and as an assistant coach for the baseball team. He completed his undergrad at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC, in 2017. At Campbell, Mr. Calvano played centerfield for the school’s baseball team. After graduating, he worked as a substitute teacher and baseball coach at Shawnee Mission East High School. He worked under Rockhurst’s new head baseball coach, Will Gorden. Mr. Calvano then became the Assistant Baseball Coach at the University of Saint Mary where he received a Master’s in Education, and is excited to teach high school students again.
Michael Dean joined Rockhurst's Business and Financial Aid Office in March 2024 as the Controller. He came with a host of experience in the areas of controller and financial management. Mr. Dean was most recently with Salo, a Korn Ferry Company, where he was the Controller for Heartland Alliance (a non-profit based in Chicago, IL). Prior to his experience with Salo, he served as the Controller with Tech Accel where his responsibilities included preparing the financial statements, ensuring compliance with appropriate GAAP principles and regulatory requirements, preparation of budgets and financial forecasts, and establishing financial and operating benchmarks, KPIs, program monitoring and reporting standards.
Will Gorden returns to Rockhurst after teaching and coaching at The Rock from 2006-2011. He will take over as a full-time instructor of Physical Education and as the Head Baseball Coach. He owns an impressive background in baseball, coaching players of all age levels. Following his previous tenure at Rockhurst, Coach Gorden took over as the head coach at Bishop Miege High School from 2011-2015, with the Stags winning two Regional Championships. Accepting a unique opportunity in 2015, Coach Gorden shared his love of the game on an international level. In a partnership with Major League Baseball, he became the Head Coach/Director of the Wuxi Development Center for MLB China, and coach of the MLB Elite Camp in Taiwan. Coach Gorden made the decision to come back to Kansas City in 2017 and return to his passion of educating high school student-athletes. He led Shawnee Mission East as its head baseball coach for six successful seasons with the Lancers. Since 2008 Coach Gorden has also served as the Director of Youth/High School Programs for the Building Champions Baseball Academy while continuing his nearly 20 years of experience as a private pitching and hitting instructor, working with hundreds of young athletes to improve their abilities on the field.
Gabby Kelsch Bledsoe comes to Rockhurst as a part-time teacher in the Computer Science Department. She earned her undergraduate degree in Computer Science & Engineering from Michigan State University. While a student at Michigan State, she held several positions within the College of Engineering. As an ambassador for the K-12 Recruitment Office, she assisted with prospective student visits and hosted STEAM programs, often with an emphasis on increasing diversity in engineering. She also served as the student representative on the Computer Science Curriculum Committee, which handled the implementation of new senior electives, academic integrity guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ABET accreditation requirements. Additionally, Ms. Kelsch Bledsoe completed two years of undergraduate research, capped off seven years of Spanish studies with an Education Abroad program in Costa Rica, held several leadership positions in the SWE and ACM-W collegiate chapters, and was a Teaching Assistant for Michigan State University’s Introduction to Programming course. Professionally, she has worked as a Product Manager, Software Engineer, and SOC Analyst for several Fortune 200 companies, and is currently a Cybersecurity Architect.
Stacey Lukas is the new full-time French teacher and French Club Moderator. Most recently at Notre Dame de Sion Grade and Middle School, she has enjoyed the full span of PK-12 teaching at various schools throughout the Kansas City area during her career. Ms. Lukas earned a BSE from the University of Kansas, and an MBA from Baker University. From her first French class as an 8th grader, Ms. Lukas knew for certain that she wanted to be a French teacher. She received a full scholarship from the Kansas Board of Regents, and completed an internship at Martell Cognac, in Cognac, France, before completing her student teaching and internship. She visits francophone countries whenever the opportunity presents itself. Ms. Lukas is also a deacon at Country Club Christian Church, where she also sits on the Grants and Special Offerings Committee.
Christopher Melton has been a track & field coach for Rockhurst since 2022 and now joins the Rockhurst faculty/staff full-time as Principal’s Office Assistant. Mr. Melton spent the majority of his professional career engaged in Training and Education for Starbucks Coffee Co. in Seattle, WA. He assisted in the training to open half a dozen “Reserve Roastery” locations including stores in: New York City, Milan, and Tokyo. He also led educational classes for Microsoft and Amazon while living in the Pacific Northwest. In an effort to combine his love of education and young people, Mr. Melton is pursuing a B.S. in Secondary Education and Earth Science.
Karen Moore enters Rockhurst as the part-time Administrative Assistant for School Counseling and Student Activities. In June, she retired from the Raymore-Peculiar School District after working there for 26 years. More than half of her time there was spent as School Social Worker, and in her last eight years she served as the Administrative Assistant to the Athletic Director. Prior to her years at Ray-Pec, Mrs. Moore worked for the Harrisonville School District as a School Social Worker, and worked for the Division of Family Services as a caseworker and adoptions specialist. Mrs. Moore graduated from UCM (CMSU in her day) after attending St. Teresa's Academy for high school.
Stephen Powell had spent two quarters at Rockhurst as a long-term substitute for U.S. and World History classes, and now joins as a full-time Social Studies teacher. He earned a B.A. in History from UMKC and a Masters in Medieval Studies from Fordham University, where he gained a deep appreciation for Jesuit education. Mr. Powell has experience as a teaching assistant for several courses at Rutgers University and as a substitute teacher in both Catholic and public high schools in the Kansas City area. For the last several years, he worked part-time as an historical interpreter at the Mahaffie Farm and Museum in Olathe, sharing his love of history with adults and children from across the Kansas City area and beyond.
Ben Calvano joins Rockhurst as a full-time teacher in the Mathematics Department and as an assistant coach for the baseball team. He completed his undergrad at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC, in 2017. At Campbell, Mr. Calvano played centerfield for the school’s baseball team. After graduating, he worked as a substitute teacher and baseball coach at Shawnee Mission East High School. He worked under Rockhurst’s new head baseball coach, Will Gorden. Mr. Calvano then became the Assistant Baseball Coach at the University of Saint Mary where he received a Master’s in Education, and is excited to teach high school students again.
Michael Dean joined Rockhurst's Business and Financial Aid Office in March 2024 as the Controller. He came with a host of experience in the areas of controller and financial management. Mr. Dean was most recently with Salo, a Korn Ferry Company, where he was the Controller for Heartland Alliance (a non-profit based in Chicago, IL). Prior to his experience with Salo, he served as the Controller with Tech Accel where his responsibilities included preparing the financial statements, ensuring compliance with appropriate GAAP principles and regulatory requirements, preparation of budgets and financial forecasts, and establishing financial and operating benchmarks, KPIs, program monitoring and reporting standards.
Will Gorden returns to Rockhurst after teaching and coaching at The Rock from 2006-2011. He will take over as a full-time instructor of Physical Education and as the Head Baseball Coach. He owns an impressive background in baseball, coaching players of all age levels. Following his previous tenure at Rockhurst, Coach Gorden took over as the head coach at Bishop Miege High School from 2011-2015, with the Stags winning two Regional Championships. Accepting a unique opportunity in 2015, Coach Gorden shared his love of the game on an international level. In a partnership with Major League Baseball, he became the Head Coach/Director of the Wuxi Development Center for MLB China, and coach of the MLB Elite Camp in Taiwan. Coach Gorden made the decision to come back to Kansas City in 2017 and return to his passion of educating high school student-athletes. He led Shawnee Mission East as its head baseball coach for six successful seasons with the Lancers. Since 2008 Coach Gorden has also served as the Director of Youth/High School Programs for the Building Champions Baseball Academy while continuing his nearly 20 years of experience as a private pitching and hitting instructor, working with hundreds of young athletes to improve their abilities on the field.
Gabby Kelsch Bledsoe comes to Rockhurst as a part-time teacher in the Computer Science Department. She earned her undergraduate degree in Computer Science & Engineering from Michigan State University. While a student at Michigan State, she held several positions within the College of Engineering. As an ambassador for the K-12 Recruitment Office, she assisted with prospective student visits and hosted STEAM programs, often with an emphasis on increasing diversity in engineering. She also served as the student representative on the Computer Science Curriculum Committee, which handled the implementation of new senior electives, academic integrity guidelines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ABET accreditation requirements. Additionally, Ms. Kelsch Bledsoe completed two years of undergraduate research, capped off seven years of Spanish studies with an Education Abroad program in Costa Rica, held several leadership positions in the SWE and ACM-W collegiate chapters, and was a Teaching Assistant for Michigan State University’s Introduction to Programming course. Professionally, she has worked as a Product Manager, Software Engineer, and SOC Analyst for several Fortune 200 companies, and is currently a Cybersecurity Architect.
Stacey Lukas is the new full-time French teacher and French Club Moderator. Most recently at Notre Dame de Sion Grade and Middle School, she has enjoyed the full span of PK-12 teaching at various schools throughout the Kansas City area during her career. Ms. Lukas earned a BSE from the University of Kansas, and an MBA from Baker University. From her first French class as an 8th grader, Ms. Lukas knew for certain that she wanted to be a French teacher. She received a full scholarship from the Kansas Board of Regents, and completed an internship at Martell Cognac, in Cognac, France, before completing her student teaching and internship. She visits francophone countries whenever the opportunity presents itself. Ms. Lukas is also a deacon at Country Club Christian Church, where she also sits on the Grants and Special Offerings Committee.
Christopher Melton has been a track & field coach for Rockhurst since 2022 and now joins the Rockhurst faculty/staff full-time as Principal’s Office Assistant. Mr. Melton spent the majority of his professional career engaged in Training and Education for Starbucks Coffee Co. in Seattle, WA. He assisted in the training to open half a dozen “Reserve Roastery” locations including stores in: New York City, Milan, and Tokyo. He also led educational classes for Microsoft and Amazon while living in the Pacific Northwest. In an effort to combine his love of education and young people, Mr. Melton is pursuing a B.S. in Secondary Education and Earth Science.
Karen Moore enters Rockhurst as the part-time Administrative Assistant for School Counseling and Student Activities. In June, she retired from the Raymore-Peculiar School District after working there for 26 years. More than half of her time there was spent as School Social Worker, and in her last eight years she served as the Administrative Assistant to the Athletic Director. Prior to her years at Ray-Pec, Mrs. Moore worked for the Harrisonville School District as a School Social Worker, and worked for the Division of Family Services as a caseworker and adoptions specialist. Mrs. Moore graduated from UCM (CMSU in her day) after attending St. Teresa's Academy for high school.
Stephen Powell had spent two quarters at Rockhurst as a long-term substitute for U.S. and World History classes, and now joins as a full-time Social Studies teacher. He earned a B.A. in History from UMKC and a Masters in Medieval Studies from Fordham University, where he gained a deep appreciation for Jesuit education. Mr. Powell has experience as a teaching assistant for several courses at Rutgers University and as a substitute teacher in both Catholic and public high schools in the Kansas City area. For the last several years, he worked part-time as an historical interpreter at the Mahaffie Farm and Museum in Olathe, sharing his love of history with adults and children from across the Kansas City area and beyond.
