Bobcat Stories

What's a fun or surprising fact that most people at the school might not know about you?

Most people know I moved here in 2022 from Austin, when my husband retired from 26 years of leading schools around the country, which meant we lived for a time in Baltimore and Miami as well as Austin. But most people don't know that I had already lived in Albuquerque during the 1990s, when I was in graduate school at UNM and then teaching English at Albuquerque Academy. I lived in the North Valley, and rode my horse all up and down the bosque, well before Bosque School was here!

Outside of school, how do you like to spend your free time? Any hobbies or interests you'd like to share?

I am a lifelong tennis player, and now play on USTA teams out of Highpoint Sports and Wellness. I'm rated a 4.0, which is pretty competitive, and have played a total of 239 matches, both singles and doubles, since I started playing on USTA teams in Texas in 2015.  

Share a brief overview of your academic and professional journey that led you to Bosque School.

I grew up in California and studied English and creative writing at Stanford University. Then I began a now 30+ year career teaching English at half a dozen different schools, including a two-year stint at an International School in Israel.  I thought I was retired, but the opportunities I've been given at Bosque School just kept coming!  I started as a tutor in the Learning Center, subbed for a while, joined the staffulty as a humanities teacher in 2023, and later became a writer for the Bosque Buzz.

Do you have any pets?

Everyone knows Pancho! My daughter Helen, who is a coach here at Bosque School, gave him to me last summer. He's a purebred Golden Retriever who has pretty much grown up here in the Schoolhouse, from three to seven months, 12 to 40 pounds!  He loves everyone and will do anything for treats. 

What's one of your favorite memories or moments from your time at Bosque School so far?

After my first year of teaching here, which was 12th-grade humanities to the class of 2024, a group of my students made me a framed poster of a quotation from Tim O'Brien, whose stories about Vietnam we had studied that spring. They presented it in a jungle-green corduroy tote bag to commemorate our focus on his story "The Things They Carried." I still use it all the time!

Can you share a specific instance where you felt a strong connection with a student or witnessed a notable "aha" moment in the classroom?

There always seems to be a moment in my seminar class when the students really "get" how to recognize literary devices like symbolism or foreshadowing.  Sometimes it's during “Oedipus Rex,” “The Great Gatsby,” or the wonderful film “Passing.”  What does it mean when a character knocks over a clock or drops a teapot?  Ask anyone who has taken Seminar 10.

Are you involved in any clubs, organizations, or activities outside of teaching? How do they tie into your role at Bosque School?

My work for the Bosque Buzz allows me to learn so much about what's happening at school. I love interviewing teachers and students about their achievements and activities and then telling their stories.  

What would you tell a family that is considering Bosque School?

I recently heard the phrase "warm demander" from a head of school I know.  I love the combination of ideas it represents, how it balances loving support with high expectations.  I think Bosque School does a great job of achieving that balance in its school culture.

Passion Projects: Do you have any ongoing research, personal projects, or creative endeavors that you're passionate about and would like to share?

Dr. Erin Zavitz and I are developing an exciting new project here at school, a Writing Center staffed by peer tutors. We have selected our peer tutors from the current sophomore and junior classes and will train them during the 2026 Immersives term.  Starting in the fall, they will be available to help students throughout the school to improve their writing in all disciplines. Writing and editing have both long been my personal and professional passions, and it will be so cool to work with students who feel the same and want to share their skills with their peers.

If you could give one piece of advice to your students, what would it be?

Appreciate all that this school offers. Trust yourself and your teachers. Don't use AI to write your essays.

Is there anything else you'd like to share about yourself?

I'm grateful for the love and support this community has shown me.