Where were you born/grow up?
“I was born and grew up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.”
What was your favorite class in elementary school and high school? Or, if there’s no clear favorite, what is most memorable?
“My favorite class was probably 6th grade science. I had a super awesome teacher, and he was also my reading teacher, so he got me into reading and different, like, scientific books.”
You might have already answered this, but who was your favorite teacher, what did they teach, and why?
“[…] his name was Mr. Mullen, and he taught my science class for 6th grade, and he also taught reading.”
Who was your least favorite teacher, what did they teach, and why?
“Oh, boy. My least favorite teacher was actually a college professor. She taught anatomy while I was at chiropractic school. And she did just not enjoy her job, it was kind of difficult to learn from her.”
What was your favorite pastime and/or TV show growing up?
“My favorite pastime was going up to my cabin. We would always go on these side trips so that we would go to different state parks, we would go hiking, take bike rides… That was kind of my favorite thing to do.”
Was there ever a single moment where you realized you wanted to teach or specifically teach science?
“So that teacher that I mentioned before, my least favorite teacher, when I was in chiropractic school, she made me realize at that moment that I wasn’t enjoying science anymore. And as she was teaching, I just figured that no one should feel that way when they are learning about science. I wanted to become a teacher to make teaching fun for people.”
What college did you attend and why?
“I went to UW-River Falls, and I went there because it was a small campus, kind of a small town deal, and that kind of fit my personality.”
What was your most memorable moment while attending there?
“So when I first went there, my sister was also going there. It was her senior year, and we would have movie night Mondays, and just kind of hang out and watch movies on Monday nights, and it was fun to just have that little piece of home when I was there.”
If you had to teach a different subject (i.e., not science), what would it be and why?
“I’d probably teach math because I feel like I end up teaching a lot of math anyway while I’m teaching science, so yeah, probably math.”
Moving on to your time here at CIHS, who has been the teacher you have become the closest with / had the best interactions with?
“Probably closest with Peikert. We work on the yearbook together, and we basically have these goofy interactions when students get us confused. I get called Peikert, she gets called Ek, one time she got called Ek-Peikert, so that was kind of goofy. Yeah, we have a lot of fun doing yearbook club stuff. It’s quite entertaining.”
Do you have a favorite lab to demonstrate or see students do?
“My favorite lab is the car crash lab, so the students build a car that has to protect an egg, and I always love seeing the competition of students wanting to win and be that person, that their car wins and ya know, they get really into it, and I love seeing them get really involved in the science behind it.”
How has running the yearbook club been? What event(s) would you say has the best for photography?
“I feel like the best photography events are the dances, it’s kind of just fun to see people get really into all of the, like they’re all dressed up, and they are so excited to see the teachers at the dances because teachers don’t live outside of school to them, ya know? That kind of thing. […] Other than that, the yearbook is going good! It’s been going better than the past couple of years.”
What are some of your hobbies or interests outside of school?
“I like to garden, in the summer I have my vegetable garden, and then I like to cook, and I also do pyrography, wood burning. I tend to make a lot of different signs and things, which is super duper fun!”
What is your favorite snack food?
“My favorite snack food is probably Fig Newtons. I really love Fig Newtons, and I have a very particular way I eat them, kind of like how people eat KitKats, and I have to eat them that way.”
Do you prefer your marshmallows untoasted, lightly toasted, or burnt?
“I would say lightly toasted like they should be perfectly golden brown, but not burnt at all.”
Pick a favorite: dogs, cats, or other (if other, please specify)
“Oh that’s tough. I have dogs and cats, so I’m going to go with other. My favorite animal is definitely a horse, so I’m going to say horses, because I don’t want to pick between dog and cat.”
If you could instantly learn any language and be able to fully understand it, what would it be?
“Probably Ancient Greek. I think that would be super cool, I like Greek mythology and I feel like that would be really fun. Either that or like, Norse, because I like Norse mythology too.
Would you rather fight a horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?
“A horse-sized duck, because I feel like that would be very comedic.”
And lastly, do you have any words of advice for the current student body?
“Don’t procrastinate. Get your work done in class, and it‘ll all be okay.”
