What's your title at CLHS?
Science Teacher, Technical Director of Theater, Director of the Our Creator's Classroom
Are you a Concordia alum or parent - current or past (and if so, please list)?
2009 Alum
When did you start at CLHS?
2013
Please describe your position at CLHS.
I teach Environmental Science and AP Environmental Science and manage the Our Creator's Classroom.
What was your education that led you to CLHS?
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education Life Science and Mild Intervention from the University of Saint Francis.
What did you love most about teaching at CLHS?
I value the connections I am able to make with my students. The conversations that occur during class, lunch, activities, and club meetings are sometimes delightful and sometimes serious, sometimes deep and sometimes silly, but they are always important. The students here are kind, empathetic, and curious. It is wonderful to be surrounded by such people. They're also people who are sifting through the fallible parts of themselves, and it is wonderful to be a part of their growth.
What's your favorite story about your time at CLHS?
Directing one-act plays for the past four seasons has been a joy and privilege. With each new show and cast, I've had the opportunity to connect with new people around a new story. Since I write the plays myself, there's an extra layer of significance for me as the cast discusses the motivations of their characters and the similarities and differences they see between themselves and their characters. In 2019, the cast of Being Good Places, my third play, earned entry into the Indiana Thespian State Competition. The cast members were as motley a bunch as the characters they represented, but we complemented each other perfectly. As they worked at portraying individuals of different ages and mannerisms, they grew as actors and as people. The things they discovered about their characters also helped them discover things about themselves. We thoroughly enjoyed our time together, though there were plenty of hiccups along the way including forgotten lines, schedule problems, and the fact that during the course of rehearsals and performances three of us crashed our cars (including myself on the way to the state competition). In contrast to our cars which we did not intend to crash, a large ceramic vase was supposed to crash and break on stage in the middle of the show. However, the set of vases I had bought for each performance were apparently the strongest vases ever made. They bounced and formed small cracks, but refused to shatter. We worked around this by hiding shards inside the vase so that at least something would scatter across the stage floor. For state, I resorted to using a dremel tool to carve fissures on the inside. Finally, during that last performance, the vase shattered. The cast stayed true to their characters and looked shocked and dismayed, but we could feel between us an electric excitement. It was a perfect moment at the center of an equally perfect performance, and we were deservedly proud of the story we had told. Our lead won Best Actor, and we all won connections with each other and growth within ourselves.