In this Q&A series, we highlight the personalities, passions, and perspectives of students, teachers, staff and administration through five quick questions.  Take a look into what makes the Panther community shine.

Q: What is your favorite part about teaching?

A: Apart from the obvious answer of “SUMMER!!!” —  there are two elements of teaching that I really enjoy. The first is the students – I love connecting with kids, and I love helping kids to understand the world better. The second aspect of teaching that I really enjoy is the creative part of planning activities for students. Sometimes it can be really fun developing engaging ways for students to learn. Unfortunately, creating those activities takes a lot of time, but the process itself can be really rewarding.

Q: Why did you choose to become a teacher?

A: I really enjoyed reading and writing – especially the creative part of writing. However, I knew I wasn’t destined to become a writer, and I actually went to college to study advertising for a little while. Eventually, I decided I didn’t want to sell things for a living; I decided I wanted to do something that made a more positive impact in the world. That’s when I returned to graduate school and earned my Master’s degree in Education and began teaching.

Q: Would you rather teach in the middle school or the high school?

A: I really enjoyed teaching in the middle school (for 21 years!), but I’m also really enjoying the high school now that I’m up here. There is a bit more independence in the high school (for teachers as well as students), but I do miss being a part of a team of teachers who worked closely together with the same group of students (as part of a team in the middle school). I like that the students are (mostly) more mature than those in the middle school!

Q: Why did you decide to establish a song writing club?

A: One reason I am starting the Songwriting Club is selfish; I wanted to embrace being a new part of the community at the high school. Even though I know most of the people who work at the high school and I know many of the students, I still felt a little bit like an outsider coming into the high school, and I know that getting involved in activities (for students AND staff) is a great way to make connections and feel more involved in the community.

The main reason, though, is that I love supporting original music. I have played guitar for over 40 years, and I’ve written a decent amount of music in that time. Writing your own music is one of the most rewarding things a musician can do. About 3 years ago, I started going to some local songwriting groups, and the experience has been really amazing. (“Local” is a bit of a lie – one of the groups is down in Philadelphia, but I drive there sometimes anyway!) My songs have gotten much better, and I’ve also made some amazing friends, and most importantly, I started writing more songs. I wanted to share some of that same inspiring energy with students, and I also want to help students know that songwriting (and creativity in general) is fun and it’s something that anybody can do. It’s not some magical, mystical process. If you want to write a song – write a song. I’m really excited to see what the students can do!

Q: If you were to have any superpower what would it be and why?

A: Teleportation! I would love to be able to travel anywhere I wanted by just thinking about it. In fact, that would be so cool, that maybe I’ll write a song about it.