2)+BSWP+2012+Fellows+and+Coaches

Boise State Writing Project 2012 Fellows and Coaches

Please use this space to write a brief bio. You can also link to your website or personal Wikispace.


 * Angie** - I grew up in Cascade and I'm the daughter of a second generation car dealer and mechanic. This is important to remember in case you ever have car trouble in the Valley County area. If you call or visit the Cascade Auto and tell them your a friend of mine, they'll do their very best to help you out, day or night. This is also important to know if you are in the market for a Dodge, Chrysler or Jeep. :-) Relationships matter. I love to cook for friends and am working hard on perfecting a number of low carb recipes (that don't seem low carb) including a mean cocktail or two. There's nothing better than sharing a meal with friends and I hope there are many of those in my future with all of you. Teaching and leading learning is a calling for me. If you ever need someone to listen or think with, please call me! I'll even buy. My friends are all physical therapists and though they are kind and patient they tend to glaze over if I talk about school too much. Can't imagine that can you?


 * Cheryl** - I never wanted to be a teacher. I saw all the hard work my education major roommates were doing and thought, "You couldn't pay me enough to do that!" Three years later I was married and needed a job, so I applied to work at a junior high as a special ed aide. I loved, loved, loved working with those kiddos! So, I went to school to get my teaching certification. Since then I have primarily taught a variety of elementary grades, some special ed, some high school with about 7 years of part time in order to spend more time with my three daughters. Although I love to read, chat with friends, and watch movies, my all time favorite activity is hanging out with my husband and girls. We love to travel and try to take advantage of every opportunity possible to do so. I waver between excitement and sheer terror at the thought of this adventure in writing. But I am ready to take the plunge.........


 * Christopher** - I grew up in Eugene and went to college in Portland. I've been in Boise for almost ten years and enjoy it more every year. I enjoy cooking for friends and family. I like to spend as much time as possible outside, playing ultimate frisbee when it's warm, snowboarding when it's cold, gardening with students when I'm at work. Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors.

For the last three years, Cliff has been the debate coach for Canyon Ridge High School in Twin Falls. He is blessed to be working with an incredibly capable staff and (even) administration. When he is not teaching—he gets to school each day at 5:14 a.m.—he enjoys playing in the dirt, reading magazines, watching movies and surfing on-line. He is addicted right now to spider solitaire. One suit only, please… Jenny is the love of his life; they have been together for 4 1/2 years and do almost everything together. Because they like to…
 * Cliffo** - Cliff became an educator late in life. He found nine and a half years of university (CSI, U of U, BSU, U of W, LCSC) with no diploma were enough; Pell Grant and scholarships were the only way he could have accomplished this feat. Most of his professional life during that time was spent in restaurants from Seattle to Salt Lake City to San Antonio to L.A. Before starting this career, he worked in Redmond, WA as a Quality Assurance Technician with Microsoft and the supervisor of a call center for technical support and sales—but not specifically software.


 * Collin** - I have always enjoyed writing and working with young people but I fought against becoming a teacher for twenty years. Instead of doing what I loved I chased a “career”. I worked as a mechanic on tanks for the Army, as a bank teller, as a technical support specialist for HP, and as about a half dozen other things before becoming an English teacher. My wife of almost eighteen years has been an elementary school teacher for as long as we have been married. She got tired of me complaining about the state of education and said, “You seem to have all the answers, go fix it!” So five years ago I began trying to “fix” education starting with my classroom. I have progressed beyond changing one classroom and I am now an administrator trying to change education at an alternative high school.


 * Greg L.**- After being raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and graduating with a teaching degree from the University of Utah, I ventured to Idaho to take on my very first teaching position. For fifteen years, I enjoyed teaching third grade one year and sixth grade for fourteen years. I can honestly say I was passionate about my teaching and decided to receive a master's degree that would enhance my classroom teaching skills (administration was not very appealing at that time). So, I received a master's degree in literacy. From that time forward, my love for literacy in the all aspects of the classroom became my obsession even when I became a principal and superintendent. For eleven years, I thoroughly enjoyed being a principal although the name Instructional Leader was definetely more fitting for my job description. I was so honored in 2002 to be named Idaho's National Distinguished Principal and represent Idaho in some very special ceremonies in Washington D.C. Now as a superintendent, it is my strong desire to focus my energies on instructional leadership. Outside my work, I am an avid cyclist and now have approximately 45,000 miles logged on my road bikes. I'm certainly no Lance Armstrong, but I feel that I have met some major cycling goals such as completing the STP (Seattle to Portland) cycling event in one day (200 miles). Working with the BSWP is going to be a growing experience. I look forward to working with so many effective educators from around the state.

I’ve lived in Idaho for about 24 years and love what it has to offer, and I do my best to fill my free time with skiing (Nordic, alpine, backcountry), fly fishing, running, cycling, rock climbing, backyard barbecues, casual dinner parties, and my favorite activity of all time—laughing. I love to find the humor in this experience we call “life,” and enjoy nothing more than sharing an entertaining story or two with a circle of friends.
 * Greg W.** -I’m wrapping up my sixth of teaching 8th grade language arts at Wood River Middle School in Hailey, Idaho. Prior to teaching, I spent 22 years as an international mountain climbing guide. During my learning autobiography presentation, I’m planning talk a bit more about that experience and discuss how it relates to where I now find myself, a wrangler of 13-year-olds in a middle school classroom.


 * Jackie**-I love writing my autobiography about as much as I love picking rocks or buying gas. That probably explains why I have procrastinated so long in actually putting “my life” into words. I am an Idaho native, growing up on a farm in Meridian. As a child, I spent the majority of my time outdoors, working on our farm, playing in our giant sand “mountain,” climbing trees, riding horses, and having adventures in the mountains with my family. I attended NNU where I was highly involved in school activities and leadership and got my bachelors in elementary education in 2008. Since then I have been teaching 4th grade at Ronald Reagan Elementary (where I did my student teaching) in Nampa. Now I can officially claim to be a 4^4 teacher as I am finishing my 4th year. During this time, I also got my masters in Literacy from BSU and graduated three weeks ago. My passion for teaching and for my “children” continues to grow. I love game nights; spending time with “my kids;” doing outdoor activities like rafting, rock climbing, and skiing; talking with people; and hangin’ with my family and friends.

Jeff grew up on a small strawberry farm in Northeastern Ohio. He loved the Hardy Boys as a boy, and has continued to love reading ever since, progressing through Hermann Hesse, John Steinbeck, and James Baldwin as literary mentors. In high school he was named a Harrier All-American for cross-country and track. He was then a two-time Small College All-American in Cross-country. He has competed Internationally in cross country, track, and nordic skiing. He now enjoys marathon nordic skiing and whitewater kayaking and is ready to complete his 20th Birkebeiner ski marathon and the Worldloppet marathon series! He was bronze medalist at the US nationals skate marathon for nordic skiing last year. Just ask him about! On second thought, better not!
 * Jeff** - Jeff Wilhelm loves teaching! He also enjoys speaking, presenting, working with students and schools. He is currently researching how students read and engage with non-traditional texts like video game narratives, manga, horror, fantasy, etc. as well as the effects of inquiry teaching on teachers, students, and learning. But enough about professional stuff.


 * Jess** - Like many English majors, I graduated with no idea of what I wanted to do. Well, I actually had a lot of ideas, but none that would ensure I wouldn't have to move back in with my parents. So I moved to California and enrolled in grad school. I was introduced to the field of education and the challenge of teaching. I've spent the years since teaching in a variety of contexts, most recently teaching middle school language arts and social studies. In addition to teaching, I love reading and writing (particularly poetry) and hanging out with my sports-junky of a husband who shares my passion for the Idaho Vandals. We are slowly seeing the world together and hope to take one international excursion each year (so far we've explored Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and France . . . . We are thinking about somewhere in Asia next. I'd love your recommendations!). My nerdiness used to be limited to all things literary but has now extended into tech stuff as evidenced by this wiki. (After reading this bio, my husband assured me that my nerdiness is boundless!)


 * Jim** - I'm from the burbs of Chicago, which makes me a fan of the Cubs and all sorts of other Chicago sports teams. I taught middle school language arts in Ohio and in Illinois. I've been taking piano lessons for about two years, and I'm only now learning how to play a song other people would recognize (it's a Beethoven piece). I am an uncle to the greatest nieces and nephews a guy could ask for. I can bake a mean pie.


 * Kate** - At different points in my childhood, I had different dreams for my "grown-up" years. When I grew up, I was going to be a paleontologist, an astronaut (and, eventually, a starship captain), a Thunderbird pilot, a Coast Guard helicopter pilot, President, Governor, Queen, headmaster of my own school, a firefighter, an orchestra conductor, a stormchaser, a fashion designer, a National Geographic photojournalist, and a rock star. In an effort to achieve as many of those goals as possible, I became an English teacher.

I read voraciously and largely indiscriminately. I'm a musician and credit my band-related experiences with my evolution as an educator. I've been blogging for over a decade now, most recently at Did You Have Juice?; I used to really be a writer, but the demands of teaching and the drains of a really tough couple of years have had a toll on that. I'm excited to bring my particular brand of multifaceted geekery to play as I teach a science fiction literature class as well as English for students in the IT and Engineering academies at Columbia High School next year. DFTBA, and Go Broncos!


 * Kylie** -


 * Lindsay** - I was born in Alaska, but raised in Boise. I went to my first 3 years of school at Campus Elementary (the old school on BSU campus - right behind the building we will be in all summer!) I attended Capital High, and had some of the most amazing teachers in my 13 years attending Boise schools. During high school I was certain I wanted to be a lawyer. My after school job was as a runner for a couple of law firms in town, and I truly thought that was my calling. After high school I went to Washington State - Go Cougs! While I was in Pullman I learned so much about myself. I traveled, met amazing people, and I changed to my major to teaching. I am so grateful I did! I love teaching, learning, and seeing kids connect and grow. For now, this is the perfect job for me. I taught middle school English in Las Vegas for my first two years, but two years was long enough in Sin City! I came back to Boise and I have been teaching at Eagle Middle for the last 5 years. I love all activities outdoors, and I am passionate about running, mountain biking, and skiing I married my best friend 2 years ago, and we have a golden retriever named Duke who completes our family (for now!)


 * Melisa** - I was born and raised in Boise, graduated from Meridian High and never in a million years thought I would settle down in Middleton Idaho. I went to the U of I where I met my husband and tried out about half a dozen different majors. Lee continued on to get his degree in business and while I stayed out home with our two children Lindsey and Devon. I continued to stay home for the next 9 years and enjoyed every minute, but when we moved back to Boise I decided it was time for me to go back to school and accomplish my dream. I graduated in 2008 with a Bachelors in English teaching from BSU. I quickly discovered I have a passion for working with at-risk youth and have taught in the alternative setting since the fall of 2008. I love learning, teaching, and pushing myself to grow and improve. When I'm not running my kids to softball, baseball, cross country, or football practice, we all enjoy snowmobiling, hiking, camping, fishing, cycling, and just spending time together doing anyting active.


 * Merri Ann**- I grew up in Teton Valley, Idaho where I skied, hiked, and picked a lot of huckleberries. I'm directionally challenged like my mom, so we spent a lot of time "finding the car," too. I am Mom to 3 great and very gifted kids, who are now my huckleberry picking squad; Greg is 14, Olivia is 11, and Annie is 5. My husband and I devote much of our time to volunteer work (over 3,000 miles logged for last year) to scouting, Civil Air Patrol, and to our church. I've been an ESL teacher for the last 9 years, and I keep in touch with my students. I love the sense of familia that these classes have allowed, but I'm looking forward to being an English and Spanish teacher this coming year.


 * Michelle** -I am a self titled science geek who is truly passionate about what I do. I have been teaching middle school for 14 years and forget I am not an 8th grader sometimes. I began my teaching career on the Georgia Coast, then Las Vegas NV and currently teach 8thgrade science at Kimberly Middle School. I have lived in Kimberly with my Husband, and my 8 and 10 year old boys for the last 6 years. The double duty of teaching and raising kids does not leave much time for hobbies, so besides being hooked on the BBC America shows Top Gear and Dr. Who, and trying to fit in exercise, my husband and I both love to travel, we recently spent spring break in Maui and are planning for Europe.


 * Nic** - Born and raised in Montana, the eMpTy state. I moved to Nampa five years ago to teach middle school. I love my work; it's pretty fantastic. I also am fascinated by movies, music, plants, science, and books. The only TV I watch is 30 Rock and The Legend of Korra (Is anyone else geeking out with me on this?). There's a couple of things that make me nervous: talent shows, wedding ceremonies, and writing bios. I'm calm and very easy-going though. The fewer hills I die on, the more battles I can fight. Ya know?


 * Nancy** - Boise is my hometown. I grew up on the Bench, close to the railroad tracks and what used to be mostly horse pastures. My four siblings and I have tried living other places, but Boise has drawn each of us back every time. My husband and I met at Boise State, and have been married 24 years. We have four kids. The two older ones attend liberal arts colleges in Washington and Minnesota. The two younger ones stay busy with the daily circus of middle school and jr. high. After several years of working in a variety of education settings-- early childhood programs, elementary, and university, in the fall of 2011 I began a new adventure: teaching the fourth grade at a first year public charter school. Idaho history is my specialty area, but I really __love__ teaching all grade levels and subjects. Cooking, conversations with friends and family, good books, traveling, and movies are my favorite pastimes. I feel very fortunate to be to be involved in this summer's writing program!


 * Pam** -


 * Pat**- My story began in Michigan many moons ago. My life chapters have been written in an informal style, capturing the detail, humor, challenges, and fun of a good adventure travelogue. As my journey unfolds, "passion for learning" has been my true north. As an avid birdwatcher (self-taught), maintaining a life list of all my sightings has been so rewarding! Looking over these hard-won entries evokes memories of travel in interesting places. As with all stories, I find pleasure in sharing my story with others; accompanied with food and wine. I invite you to share an early morning walk or evening stroll and we may be lucky in catching a glimpse of a new "life list" entry.


 * Rayme** - Well, to start, it's Rayme. Not Ramey, although my parents probably should have spelled it like that in the first place. Twin Falls- the double drip- is my hometown. I am a teacher but I like to take my laptop to coffee shops and pretend I'm a struggling writer. Which reminds me- I love coffee. If anyone is reading this, my drink is a skinny Milky Way from Moxie. I work out out of necessity rather than enjoyment. I became a teacher because that's what my mom is so I know of no other professions. My husband inspires me. I'd like to have some babies here in the next few years, Lord willing. I am so sarcastic that it's annoying. My dream job is one in which I am paid $32/hour to read books for 8 hours a day. If anyone knows of a position that matches the criteria above, you can contact me at raymeleigh@gmail.com.


 * Rich** - I grew up in Mtn. Home and graduated from the University of Idaho. I taught in Boise for four years before moving back to my hometown to teach and coach at Mtn. Home High School. I teach math and am the head track and field coach, I am also on my third term as a city councilman (I am half way through my eleventh year). I love to spend time with my family. We are very out going. We like to camp, go on hikes, ride our bikes, run or just get out. My wife is a BSWP '07 Fellow and has helped to get me involved as a teacher consultant. We have three wonderful children, two of which will be in high school next year. That can not be right. I can cook a mean Basque dinner. Basque chicken, paella, flan, rice pudding and salad.


 * Savannah** - I was born in Fresno and graduated from Meridian High. Go VANDALS! In general, I’m a spunky gal with a shy front who is an absolute lover of life. Relationships are important to me. People fascinate me. It’s hard for me to find people I don’t like something about. I'm the oldest of four in a family with parents who were in full-time ministry.I train for marathons, shop, play the piano, cook, and socialize (with wine) for fun. I'm a mom. Teaching is one of my utmost passions. The learning process is life-giving, the kids are inspiring, and the job is challenging. I’m never bored. I’m optimistic to a fault, and have severe performance anxiety. I love to laugh!


 * Sheryll**- Originally from Detroit, I left to work in Zion National Park and Yellowstone National Park, before joining the 'real world.' My fondest memories are of YNP, and I still maintain many friendships from my time there. I am a people person. My children keep me extremely busy, but I make time for my own interests also; anything outdoors, especially skiing and hiking, yoga, reading, sports, cooking, and learning something new. Antarctica is at the top of my bucketlist, followed by Basecamp (Everest). I read mostly non-fiction, historical, and an occasional fiction piece. I love to cook and try new recipes, entertain, enjoy a good ale, listen to music, walk the dog, watch a sunset, take pictures through my windshield, meet people with varied interests, and share stories with all who I have the good fortune to cross paths with:)