What’s your favorite part of the cell?
The mitochondria because they provide energy, and it’s like how much I love coffee, which provides me with energy. I have a lot of respect for anything that raises my ATP levels.
What’s the best part about teaching McLean?
The students—I have loved the students from the very first year that I was here. Students actually thanked me when they left the room, and I worked in many other places in this country where they didn’t appreciate the teachers. The McLean students are consistently well-mannered and appreciative, which has made teaching nice for me.
What made you decide to become a biology teacher?
When I graduated from college, I went into animal testing. I worked for a pharmaceutical company in a lab, and there weren’t many people. It was just me and the mice, so I felt isolated until I went to a party one day and met a teacher. I felt like I got on better with her than anyone I had met in the corporate world. It really was the people factor that drew me to teaching.
What is your favorite way to spend time with your family?
I go to a cabin in the Adirondacks every summer, and there’s a freshwater lake there. We love playing frisbee there. We enjoy the outdoors and we do a lot of hiking up there. Luna, our dog, came this past summer, and she loved the water.
What is a funny teaching moment?
I love mentioning the sperm and the egg to the freshman. It’s funny because I keep a straight face and watch them try to control their giggles. It’s fun to walk around with a deadpan face, talking about the biological realities of sperm and egg meeting and watching the kids’ faces. I tell them, “You know what? There, they were a winner once in their lives.”
If you could invite one person, living or dead, to have dinner with you, who would it be?
David Attenborough. I would love to sit and have dinner with him and talk about all the adventures he has had in all the ecosystems of the world. He is a human being that I deeply respect, and I’d like to hear his take on things right now because he gives me hope.
If you could rewatch any movie or TV show as if it was for the first time, which would it be?
The Harry Potter movies. There was a time when I reread all of the books every summer in my cabin. I took all the books up there with me. Those movies are my favorite thing to watch when I’m grading papers.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
It would be coffee. That was easy. I love coffee.
Favorite song or album?
I’m going with anything by Covergirl because I love her as a performer. She sings all my favorite covers really beautifully. She’s my favorite artist and a fantastic guitar player.
What was your most interesting job before teaching?
I was a veterinary assistant one summer during college. The veterinarian allowed me to observe during surgeries. I saw a cat being spayed, a Doberman’s ears being clipped, dissections of live animals and stitching. I watched people stitch [the animals] back up and wake up later which looked fantastic.
