Editor’s Note: The Olivian will interview a new OA staff member each day for the next week.
Q: What is your role here at Oliver Ames?
A: I teach English here at OA. I have two sections of freshmen and two sections of sophomores along with a Writing Seminar. I don’t run any clubs yet, but am looking to help with the Dungeons and Dragons club and perhaps start a writing club at OA.
Q: Who got you to where you are today?
A: I wouldn’t be where I am without my mother. She worked hard to get her master’s degree in education when I was eight years old and modeled what it meant to be a quality educator. She worked in special education and she would take us to school over the summer so we could help run her classroom for the extended school year program in my hometown. That was probably my first unofficial ‘student teaching’ experience at the ripe age of 10 years old, and the lessons I learned about the value of patience, passion, and creativity have made me a better teacher today.
Q: What is your favorite fun fact about yourself?
A: I used to work in a traveling acting troupe, which is very weird but also what brought me back to teaching. I worked for New Repertory Theatre doing research for their educational theatre wing and, when one of the actors in the troupe had to drop out of the production, they asked me to step in. I spent that year waking up at 4am and driving to middle and high schools all around the northeast performing Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and a dramatized version of 1984 by George Orwell. It was a weird job but being back in schools and running discussions with students was what made me take my teaching exams, so I am very grateful for it.
Q: If you could be any animal what animal would you be and why?
A: If I really think about it, a Galapagos tortoise is the pinnacle of easy life. Living on an island paradise with no natural predators to worry about sounds too good to be true. So long as you avoid British scientists, you’re pretty much set!
Q: Do you have any thoughts on the school in general that you would like to add?
A: This is true of middle school as well, but I love the culture of our school. People stop by your room, make you feel welcome, say hi in the hallways — there is a sense of community that is especially strong this year, I think. I’m most excited to come to OA this year in particular, because my first group of students are seniors now, so it’s a really satisfying time to come full circle and see how they’ve changed.