Bio Sketch: Andrea

assignment- interview a classmate from the Homer Open, write a biographical sketch

Mentally preparing for the Homer Writing Consortium I knew I would have the privilege of collaborating with other professional teachers. Little did I know I would be dissecting part of their lives and writing about it. Each person I’ve met at the consortium fascinates me. They have my utmost respect as professional educators and experienced Alaskan teachers. If only we had the opportunity to fully know one another, the way I know my closest friends, the way I know my wife. To extrasensorily perceive one another with just a glance would be astounding. In writing we must first know our subject. Through deep brainstorming and critical thinking we develop an understanding of our subject, then capture it to the best of our abilities. In a sense this is the metamorphosis we witness as writers of our subject. This is how Andrea has grown as a teacher, and the subject of my biographical writing. She’s lived several lives within a life. Interweaving one within the next finally ending up in the Matanuska Susitna School District, and ultimately in a chair at the Alaska State Writers Consortium Homer Open sitting beside me. “Would you like to be biography partner,” she asks me? You seem new to teaching and I’ve been teaching for a while, we might be able to learn something from one another.

Serving others, always. This is the motto I feel Andrea has come to simply live by, though she is very humble about it. Whether loyally teaching students in the Mat- Su School District as a Special Education Teacher, or faithfully standing by her husband through health issues- how many people can say they’ve given an organ for someone they love? For sixteen years Andrea has spent her career helping students in Alaska learn to read, write and develop life skills essential in school. Starting in Seward as a teacher before moving to Palmer, Andrea has spent the last three years serving as a high school resource teacher.

Part of being a teacher is being a life long learner. A bibliophile at heart, Andrea has adapted to the digital revolution, armed with her iPad loaded with wonderful ebooks. Constantly looking for new teaching manuals and professional development texts available to download, she is driving the digital train of education into the 21^st century. Despite this innovative technological wonder, she still saves boxes of books for the day batteries won’t bring the glow of her screen to life. Her genre is non-fiction, though she enjoys fiction. Andrea loves to learn and does so through constant inquiry and intellectual curiosity of the non-fiction genre.

Few people have experienced some of the sights Andrea has. Humpback whales breaching off the bow of her glacial tour boat. Peregrine falcons swooping across the sky, snatching baby chic’s of the rookeries Resurrection Bay cliff walls. Sea Otters buoyantly bouncing on the surface of the water. Orca’s stealthily cutting the surface, obscuring their black and white stripes in the chilly gulf waters. Andrea served as a conduit to this aquatic Eden working six years in Seward as a Park Ranger. Sharing, not only these experiences but knowledge and information about these wonders. A testament to her cheerful attitude toward others and eagerness to teach.

Whether rescuing and raising four beautiful German shepherds or faithfully supporting her sick husband, Andrea cares about others. In the classroom she engages with students and strives to teach them the skills necessary for life. Only when you have lived your life to the fullest can you teach others what life is. This is what I have learned from Andrea.