Bobcat Stories

As we prepare to welcome the Class of 2026 as Bosque School Alumni, we take a moment to look back four years. In the Class of 2022, many Bosque School alumni are now graduating from college, some are continuing their education, and others are starting careers.  

Phoebe Cooper (‘22) has been busy the last four years with both her education and her job(s) at Bosque School! We caught up with Phoebe and asked her to reflect on her time at Bosque as a student, her feelings about graduation, and her plans for the future. 

Phoebe credits Bosque School for her strong self-advocacy skills and her initiative to get things done. The support of Bosque School faculty and staff gave her a lot of confidence in her abilities, as well as the knowledge of when to ask for help and learn more. The excellent preparation she received in her Bosque School humanities classes helped her thrive in the fast-paced, high-expectations college environment, particularly in reading- and writing-intensive classes. “My Latin classes helped me a lot when it came to my introductory linguistics courses. Thanks, Ms. Alvarez and Dr. Kratzer!”

By senior year at Bosque School, Phoebe was an officer in Tri-M and Thespians (Troupe 7148!) and was also Student Government Vice President. She was also a regular in the musical and choir from 7th grade until graduation. 

After graduating from high school, Phoebe returned to Bosque Summer as a program coordinator and has come back every summer since! A few years ago, Phoebe decided to join Bosque School during the school year as the extended care coordinator and later alongside the learning specialist. 

She started her speech and hearing sciences degree at UNM in the fall of 2022 and met some amazing people in the program. Phoebe will be graduating this month with a bachelor of arts degree in speech and hearing sciences and dual minors in family and child studies and honors interdisciplinary liberal arts. Her education will continue at UNM as she enters the master’s program for speech language pathology. 

Phoebe credits her inspiration to enter the speech language pathology field to her experiences working with Bosque Summer and discovering her passion for working with children. Since she started at Bosque Summer, she has had the opportunity to work with many wonderful TAs, teachers, and program coordinators. She is hopeful that she can carry her passion and deep appreciation for collaboration into her field and help more kids explore interests and find new ways of self-expression. 

“The community I have found at Bosque has been so supportive in helping me through this degree. My time with Bosque Summer helped foster my passion for working with kids, and Zach Lang has been the best mentor I could have asked for. Working with him and the rest of the Bosque Summer team has provided me with an incredible opportunity to grow as a leader and gain experience working with young children and their families. 

I have loved being able to come to work and continue to learn from the faculty and staff that have been so influential throughout my life, and I deeply value and appreciate all their encouragement and support that has gone beyond my time as a student.”

Outside of work and school, Phoebe loves spending time with family and friends (specifically her cats!). Good homemade food, reading new books, and finding new hobbies bring her joy.