#1—What brought you to Emma Willard School?

I’ve only ever worked in girls’ independent schools and I love them, and I love working in residential life specifically, so I spent the first few years of my career looking for a place where I could focus 100% of my time and energy into residential life. I’d actually applied for a job at Emma in the spring of 2015 but the timing didn’t end up working out, so when a houseparent position opened up a few years later, I jumped at the chance to apply again. 

#2—What is a typical day-in-the-life at Emma like for you?

My day always starts with a (short) walk around campus with my dog, Otto so that he can greet his adoring fans. Then I’ll usually stop by the dining hall for coffee and breakfast if it’s not too late (houseparents are rarely morning people). During the school day, I might have meetings with my awesome advisees or some projects to work on like getting ready for Jestermester 2.0! 

My day really kicks off when the academic day ends. Otto gets another walk, and then I come on duty at 5pm, when I have to be ready for just about anything and anyone that could come to my door: an Emma bug [house centipede] emergency, a hungry student desperate for a snack after sports, someone who’s homesick and wants to chat, and, as always, just as many visitors for Otto. 

Once study hall starts, I might meet with my student leaders to check in on how things are going in our neighborhood and make plans for tea the following week. After study hall is evening check in, and my favorite time of day! I get to see all of my students, hear about their day, maybe ask them a silly question. It’s so important to me to have that time and make those connections every time I’m on duty. Everyone is checked in by 10:30pm, and things are usually pretty quiet on the hall by 11pm. Otto gets his last walk, and I get to go to sleep and hope the fire alarm doesn’t go off overnight! 

#3—What is one thing about working at Emma that would surprise people?

I think something that surprised me is all the ways I have been supported to grow and change and try new things in such a relatively short amount of time. I started at Emma in 2018, and in six years I’ve done amazing professional development that’s allowed me to build new skills and connect with so many colleagues at other schools; I’ve joined committees and worked on initiatives that I’ve seen take shape in the day-to-day lives of our students; I’ve worked with our student leaders while also getting to hone my own leadership as a department chair; I’ve jumped back into the classroom and out of my comfort zone leading a Jestermester... even just reading that list I can’t really believe it’s only been six years, and I’m sure there are plenty of things I’m forgetting. I’ve learned so much about myself through all those experiences and it has all made me so proud to be an educator and part of this community.

#4—What were you like in high school?

I was busy! I was a three season athlete, but I also did tech crew for our theater productions, and was one of the yearbook editors. I was really lucky to attend a school like Emma, where I could try all of those things and not feel like I had to fit into one specific box. 

Academically, I was a HUGE procrastinator (some would maybe have called me a slacker…) and a chronic gym class-skipper. Socially, it took me a long time to find my people. I think I was a senior before I felt like I had really close friends, and that was hard and lonely sometimes, but I’m so grateful for the friends I did find because we’re still in touch, can pick back up wherever we left off every time we see each other, and they think it’s hilarious that I work in education now because high school-me swore I never would.