New Biology Teacher Shares Her Journey to MMACHS

Mrs. Chaitra Halgan

By MMACHS juniors Gavin Hapney and Bo Frasier

Moving from Bangalore, India, 18 years ago, Chaitra Halgan, our new biology teacher, had quite a journey to Meridian Medical Arts Charter High School.

It wasn’t easy for Mrs. Halgan to move from India. She misses the chaos, the food, and, most importantly, her family. Despite these challenges, she believes moving to the United States was the right choice for her.

Mrs. Halgan completed most of her schooling in India before earning two Master’s degrees in the United States. Schooling in India was very different from what students experience in the U.S.

“Students have to study physics, chemistry, biology, English, Hindi, and a third language we get to pick from sixth grade through 10th grade,” she explained.

In the final years of high school, students could choose what they wanted to focus on, including physics, business, engineering, science, art, or medical-related subjects. Mrs. Halgan chose science because of her strong passion for the field.

“I had a natural passion for chemistry and biology. My teacher did things like set things on fire and got the students all excited,” she said.

Mrs. Halgan has noted similarities between her classmates in India and her students at MMACHS.

“The 10th, 11th, and 12th years are super rigorous, just like here,” she said.

During her time in the United States, Mrs. Halgan has lived in three states. She lived in Texas for three years, Kentucky for two years, and has lived in Idaho for 13 years.

While living in Texas, Mrs. Halgan earned her first Master’s degree in biotechnology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. After moving to Idaho, she earned her second Master’s degree in teaching secondary education with an endorsement in biology from Boise State University.

The 2025–2026 school year is Mrs. Halgan’s first year as a full-time teacher. She completed her student teaching for the MIT program at Timberline High School, where she continued working as a substitute. She described herself as “the permanent substitute,” a role she enjoyed so much that it inspired her to become a teacher.

So far at MMACHS, Mrs. Halgan has felt nostalgic because the school reminds her of her own science-focused high school in India, though it was not as medically focused. She described the students at MMACHS as “intelligent, very focused, and well behaved.”