Quick Q & A
1. What is your favorite kind of window?
A window that provides me a new perspective into someone’s life, especially those who have a lived experience that has been substantially different from my own.
2. What will be the hardest part of your new job?
Stimulating progress while preserving the core. IMSA has a lot of great history, and sometimes that gets in the way of innovation. I look forward to that challenge.
3. What is your favorite movie?
It’s a Wonderful Life because it illustrates how someone can improve the lives of a community without expecting anything in return, only to realize later that sense of humility will serve him well during his greatest time of need.
4. What was your most transformative educational experience and how does it help you think about leading IMSA?
I read a book during my undergraduate degree and realized I could teach math the way I loved learning science — through inquiry, investigation and discovery.
Also, during my master’s degree, I took a seminar at NCSA when the alpha version of Mosaic was developed (that’s the first multimedia web browser). That created a platform for developing inquiry-based activities that used data and interactive applets from the Internet.
5. If you could choose a superpower, what would it be and why?
I wish I could read minds. That would allow me to respond to student needs more effectively with proper support and challenges, and be able to understand colleagues’ perspectives better, particularly the quiet or unspoken voices in the room. Really, I just want everyone to have a sense of belonging and to know I care about their success.
6. From your experience of IMSA so far, what do you find most unique about this school?
The acronyms, for sure. I’m now starting to create my own. JEDI = Just Every Day at IMSA, and PILLOW = Please, I’d Love to Learn Our Ways
