FRIDAY FACULTY FEATURE: Tony Koy’s Math Mania
The factors behind math teacher Tony Koy.
media by Kishan Vahalia
Math teacher Tony Koy grades tests from his Calculus class in his classroom Sept. 20. Koy teaches Algebra II/Trigonometry, Math of Money, Calculus, and AP Calculus. “Math of Money teaches kids who have never liked math before, whereas Calculus takes kids that are really good at math and challenges their math knowledge,” Koy said. “It’s hard to say which one’s my favorite.”
February 10, 2023
Picture yourself in math class. You take notes on factoring while tapping your pencil on the desk. Then, math teacher Tony Koy starts to explain the concept, loud and animated.
Q: What do you teach?
A: Algebra II/Trig, Math of Money, Calculus A and AP Calculus BC.
Q: What’s your favorite class to teach?
A: It’s a hard question because all of them are a little bit different. For example, Math of Money is a class that teaches kids that have never liked math before how they’re going to use math in the real world. AP Calculus takes kids that are really good at math and challenges their math knowledge. So, it’s hard to say which one’s my favorite.
Q: How long have you been teaching math?
A: It’s my 27th year teaching overall, and in my 17th year at Rock Canyon.
Q: Where did you go to college?
A: North Carolina State University. Go Wolfpack!
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: Fly fishing all the time. I hang out with my family up in the mountains and enjoy a little time in Granby.
Q: Do you watch any sports?
A: Football and football, college and professional.
Q: What’s your favorite NFL team?
A: Chicago Bears. It’s painful, very painful to be a Bears fan. But I have been my whole life.


![Minutes before the Activities Fair in the gym, president Abhi Gowda ‘26 prepares the stall for his club Helping Hands, Sept. 4. A relatively new club, Helping Hands was co-started by Gowda and focuses on assisting the homeless, and just last year they succeeded in raising a couple hundred donations to send to shelters. This year, they have goals to expand, with hopes to increase volunteer opportunities and take in-person trips to shelters, as well as extend their help beyond just homeless people. “The Activities Fair gives a lot of underclassmen the opportunity to really get to know the Canyon culture, and it gives them many opportunities for service and volunteering,” Gowda said. “[Through the Activities Fair,] I hope to find a bunch of new and passionate members about our club and just get our name out there and spread awareness to the cause that we’re fighting for.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/1-2-1200x885.jpg)







![The winter guard team makes fifth place at the state championship finals in the Denver Coliseum, March 30. The team performed to Barnes Country's “Glitter and Gold,” lead by coaches Margo Sanford, Blair Bickerton and Anna Orgren. In their class there were a total of nine groups participating, and the top five who made it to finals received a plaque. “[Walking onto the stage] is very nerve-wracking, but also very exciting as well. When you first start color guard there's a lot of anxiety and uncertainty when you first perform in front of an audience, but once you've done it for a while, it starts to become the best part of the season,” Ella West ‘25 said. “It's very fulfilling to see an audience react to something you've put your heart and soul into.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Both-socal-media-nd-website-main-1-1200x846.jpg)


![April marks the 25th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, created by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC). This month is to spread awareness of the harassment, assault and abuse that happens around the world. The symbol that represented the month was a teal ribbon; however, some survivors of assault create different symbols and movements like the TikTok trend in 2022, where survivors would tattoo Medusa on their body, in honor of her backstory in Greek Mythology. “I don't think [this month is known] at all. I rarely see anybody talk about it. I rarely see much of an emphasis on posting it online, or much discussion about it, and I feel like there needs to be way more discussion,” an anonymous source said. “I think just validating every experience that a person has gone through, regardless of the degree of it, the severity, is an essential step into making sure that people are aware that this is a very real problem in a society and that we need to do better in addressing it.”](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_0011-1200x900.jpg)













![Lesbian Visibility Day is April 26, and it’s a holiday to celebrate the lesbian community of the world. Lesbian Visibility day was established in 2008 by many queer activists and organizations who sought to raise more awareness for lesbian history and culture. “So this is why during Lesbian Visibility [Day] we celebrate and center all lesbians, both cis and trans, while also showing solidarity with all LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people,” Linda Reily, in an article written by her, said.](https://rockmediaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Lesbian-Visibility-day.jpeg)





