2)+BSWP+2011+Fellows

= Boise State Writing Project 2011 Fellows =

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

Aaron -Like everyone else in the Boise State Writing Project I am honored to have been selected to participate in this learning group. Everyone has raved about how worthwhile this class is, they were right but it is even better than what they said. This class will forever change me for the better as a teacher and more importantly as a person. I have been teaching in Kimberly as a sixth grade science teacher for the last four years. I have many passions and they all involve nature; I love the outdoors and view nature as a refuge to re-energize. I have an undergrad in zoology from the University of Wisconsin and a grad degree in curriculum design from Montana State University-Billings. I love the challenge of this class, it's focus is to make you the best educator that you can be, not tell you how to educate. Thanks BSWP.

Amanda - I am extremely pleased to be a part of the Boise State Writing Project. A few of my friends have participated and raved about it. I live happily in Boise with my husband, Max, of four years (Our anniversary will come and go during the writing project, so we will have to postpone our celebration until later. Luckily, Max is very patient and supportive.). Boise is the perfect place for us because we love spending time outdoors hiking, biking, boating, and what have you. For the past five years I have taught third grade in the Nampa School District. I love it! I can see myself teaching for years to come. This is good because I am also currently working on getting a master's degree in literacy education. I've invested too much time and money to back out now. I look forward to getting to know you and learning from you all throughout the coming month!

Angie - Seems so funny to be writing my bio in the 3rd week of the ISI (Sorry Jess!), but maybe I'll add a few things to remember about me (the good stuff, have mercy on the rest) as we begin to transition to our new phase as friends and colleagues. 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?

It has been my privilege to know, write, and think with all of you. You have been supportive, truthful, and professional. I have been so encouraged about everything that is going right with kids K-college because of who you are and who you continue to seek to become.

Audrey -

Becky -Fifteen years ago, I could not have foreseen doing what I'm doing today: participating in an elite graduate writing program in league with some of Idaho’s best teachers. No way! In 1996, I was a full time mom and volunteer at my daughters’ school when my husband lost his job. School connections led me a position as a library assistant and I discovered my passion to become a “professional” school librarian. While continuing to work full time, I took evening and weekend classes at BSU to earn a teaching certificate and library endorsement, graduating in 2005. During those same years, my husband and I each had our own battles with cancer. The electronic password I began using early on, “yesican” (before presidential candidate Obama made it world famous), is one I still use. (Mostly because I can remember it!) Writing is ridiculously arduous for me but I’m a pretty good librarian and collaborative teacher. So I’m trying to cut myself some slack, focus on what I can learn and contribute, enjoy the people and the process of the BSWP.

Chalay - I like to say that I am finally starting the happily everafter part of my life. Don’t worry, I know that it isn’t all going to be roses and sunshine, but things have gotten really good for me in the last couple of years. To go back, I am a real nerd. I loved school. It was easy for me and I knew that reading and writing were a fit for me from a pretty young age. I loved college too—I miss it sometimes, so I am excited to be taking a class like this that will give me that nerd kind of //high//I get when I am learning. I majored in English at BYU with an emphasis in editing. It wasn’t until the summer I graduated that I decided to be a teacher (or got talked into it). I taught two years of 6th grade Language Arts at East Valley Middle School learning to hate Open Court, and then the last four years teaching 9th and 10th grade English along with 12th grade AP Literature and Composition at Columbia High School in Nampa. I love camping, hiking, and riding motorcycles when I get a spare moment. After lots of loss and pain, I finally met my husband, Sam, two years ago, and we’ve been married for a year and a half. He makes me laugh—something I was missing for a long time. We just bought our first house, and we are excited to write the rest of our story as the years go by.

Clare - Most summers you will find me in the great outdoors hiking and camping with friends. I enjoy the challenge that climbing a mountain presents and love the feeling of accomplishment I have when I reach the summit. I have a fear of heights so the view from the top is most victorious! Another fear for me is writing. This summer I am on a journey to redefine myself as a writer by being a particpant in the Boise State Writing Project. In 2003, I started my teaching career as a Jesuit Volunteer in Portland, ME. After a year of teaching 5th grade at Cathedral School, I moved to Boise to teach 5th grade at Sacred Heart Catholic School. I taught a total of four years there before I felt it was time to mix it up. I took a leap of faith into the unknown and ended up teaching social studies and language arts in an alternative program of my design at Riverglen Junior High. Budget cuts brought an end to that year of pioneering and I came to land at my current school, Shadow Hills Elementary, where I am looking forward to looping with my former 5th graders through their 6th grade experience this fall. I love traveling, reading, and spending time with family and friends. I am recently engaged and look forward to starting this next chapter of my life with my fiance, Kyle.

Colin -

Hollie - My sister experienced the Boise State Writing Project several years ago and constantly commented about how it was one of the most formational experiences of her teaching. I began my teaching career in 1994 and after a few years of teaching at the middle school level, took a break to raise my own children. I stayed at home for 10 years (the most important teaching experience of my life thus far :) ) and then returned to a classroom setting in 2008. My passion in teaching is the whole child. I strive to provide an environment with a sense of stability so as to create a platform for true learning in my students. I look to find satisfaction through simplicity in my life. Sometimes I succeed at that, and often, I don't. My farm girl roots come out in my love for open fields of green, my small but prolific garden, and taking walks with my family, who has forever captured my heart. I feel challenged and blessed to be able to participate with this amazing group of teachers this summer in the BSWP.

Jan -After years of hearing about the transformational experience that is the Boise State Writing Project, I finally decided to try it for myself. I usually teach during the summer, but I decided this is the summer to teach myself and let others teach me. I've been ignoring that little writing voice for a long time. I've found that it is very difficult to get myself to write when I talk about writing all day and spend most nights reading my students' work. I've been a teacher in various forms since I was 22. I taught High School English, Reading, Speech, and Debate for four years at Valley High School, which is located in a hayfield between the tiny towns of Eden and Hazelton, Idaho. After taking a year off and moving to Annapolis, Maryland to finish my MA, I found myself back in southern Idaho again. I started teaching as an adjunct at the College of Southern Idaho in 2003. I was hired full-time the next year, and I've been teaching composition, Humanities, and Western World Literature since then. Much of my identity is tied to being a teacher, and I'm looking forward to spending a summer looking at that identity and being around like-minded spirits.

Jelena -I live a sweet and simple life alongside my husband, son, and golden retriever in Caldwell. I was raised in the breathtaking Bitterroot Valley of Montana, which I begrudgingly came to love after proclaiming myself to be a “city girl”. My weekends were spent traversing rugged mountain trails and camping under seemingly endless star speckled skies. From a very young age I felt compelled to accomplish 3 goals: to dance, to teach, and to become a mother. After attending the University of Montana, I left my family and my home for the chance to teach in Jerome, Idaho. It was there that I met my husband and developed a severe dissatisfaction for the perpetual smell of cow. We moved to Caldwell to be closer to family (and to free our nostrils) and were both thrilled to become teachers in Middleton. I currently teach 3rd grade and find that after 7 years of teaching, I am still passionately in love with my job. My husband and I bought a home in Caldwell, and recently welcomed our first child, Parker (2), who is the absolute love and inspiration of my life. I enjoy cooking, scrapbooking, and dancing. I find serenity in exercise and in the naked, untamed beauty of the outdoors. I am excited to be a part of the BSWP to resurrect the writer that is buried within, to reflect on what motivates and drives my teaching, and for the chance to build friendships and memories.

Lesley - It seems I am in a perpetual search for myself. The good part is that I am reflective; the bad part is that I never seem to get there...or even at a resting spot. But here are some things I can say I know about me: I love to run, love to garden, love to just be outside finding solace in nature. I don't sit still for long and prefer physical stress to mental stress (Pioneer life, anyone?). "Patience" is not a word anyone who k nows me would use to describe me. And lately, I have realized that my lack of patience is my biggest obstacle to being a writer or artist (well that and lack of talent). I don't think technology is so great; I think we THINK it connects us, but I've never felt more disconnected from people in my life. The thing I am absolutely the most proud of is the kind of mother I am to my two kids: Ashley (17) and Drew (12). I love our family...we laugh ALL the time (humor is big in our house). I'm excited to be in the ISI and am thrilled I get to meet such amazing people. Oh yeh, I have been a teacher for 12 years: 1 year at Mingus High School (Cottonwood, AZ), 4 years at Kimberly High School, 4 years at Harrison Elementary (6th grade, Twin Falls), and 3 years at West Jr. High.

[|Logan]

[|Michelle]

Ramey - I am a perfectionist at the core. I have trouble trying new things, meeting new people, and exploring new horizons. Growing up in a small town in Eastern Oregon has solidified my fear of judgment and has always tended to steer me away from taking on new challenges and meeting new people. I tend to save my personality for those in my saftety net. As an adult, I have had to battle the inner child to get myself out of my shell to take risks in all areas of my life. The BSWP will be another great opportunity for me to grow in this way. I am anticipating meeting new people, building more relationships, and becoming a better educator. While in many ways I am terrified of the experience, I know that it will be a great way to continue on my journey and to learn from others. I am lucky enough to be Paula's husband and a father of three wonderful children Morgan (15), Tucker (9) and Melia(8). I am teaching math at Heritage Middle School in Meridian. I am looking forward to spending quality time with all of you this summer


 * Serena** - I am afraid of failure, which is why it took me 5 days to write my bio correctly. I tend to only try things I'm good at, and BSWP has me teetering. I've tried lots of things: public school teaching, private school teaching, music school owner, curriculum writer, clinician for a music company, back to public school teaching. The coolest thing I've tried is parenting. Two teenage daughters are exciting, exhausting and humbling....I read, write, paint, cook, eat, run, cycle....I've been a goal oriented-check-it-off-the-list person. I'm in remission, but learning to love the process is a process. My goal this summer is to pay attention, be intentional-- not just about my studying and teaching, but in my interactions with family, friends, colleagues, and strangers. I want to learn their stories, so I better live my own.

Shantell - I have always been a rule-follower and pleaser...until this year. I have reached a point in my career that I have the strength and courage to fight for what's right for my students. This year has been a transformational year for me, one in which my true heart of teaching has been exposed and doesn't want to be concealed again. A very wise woman told me this year that I am learning to stand in my truth and that I must remember to always adhere to my truth. I have taught elementary for 10 years, 7 in 1st grade and 3 in 4th grade in canyon county schools. I also have my masters degree in school counseling, which has given me great insight into the dynamics that play into my students lives. I am a busy mom of 4...Taylor (15), Cory (13), Trevin (3) and Madden (1). My children give me such inspiration and joy, they have the ability to bring out the kid in me and boy, oh boy, can we be silly. Being a mom is the most amazing gift I have ever received and I am so thankful for every moment I have with my children. I love to coupon...no, I'm not like the extreme couponers on tv, but I am a bargain shopper. I love to read a wide genre of books. I love to play games, not so much competitive games, but games that make people laugh. I'm starting my first garden this year...bring on the gardening tips!

Nampa is my home, but I'm a country girl from Paul, Id. I moved to Boise to attend college where I eventually met my husband. Two years later we moved to Nampa and became a part of this wonderful community(proud to be 2C despite the stereotypes). I taught ESL for 5 years at the middle school level, both at West and Lone Star. Currently, I am taking a break from the classroom to raise my children, but hope to return in the near future. A cup of coffee, or your choice beverage, and a good conversation are two of my favorite things in life. After that, I consider myself, "Jack of all trades, master of none." Sometimes I pick up a guitar, shoot a basketball, catch a fish, take a hike, try to cook a new recipe, or work in my garden. I love relationships and learning new things!
 * Sonia** -Wife, mother, coach, and friend are some of the labels that I wear these recent days. I'm a wife to the sexiest man, mother to a 3-year-old daughter and 9-month-old son. Nampa High School girls call me coach for softball. My hope is that many call me good friend.

Teri -

Thomas - I am a teacher, a coach, and a member of the larger educational community. I have been known to procrastinate. I want to work on this, but it keeps getting pushed to the back burner... I have considered labeling myself a dilettante. I am fascinated by many things. I have to say that I enjoy life and I have gradually turned into an optimist over the years. I have, in fact, been accused of being a Pollyanna. I am not sure that I agree with this. I am originally from Orange, California. I have grown to love Idaho immensely. I am a Christian, a part-time punk rocker, and a guy who owns a ukelele. I have been known to write a poem or two.

Toni - Wow, so many great opening sentences about who you are! I'm not quite there yet to attach the labels. My husband, son, beagle and I moved to Idaho three summers to be close to family. The guilt of having an only child finally caught up, so we decided to "part of the clan" in order for my son to get to know his kinfolk. Since moving to Idaho, I have been teaching in a K-5 Extended Resource Room (aka- previously known as "self-contained"). My class consists of 10-15 students with cognitive impairements or Autism Spectrum Disorders. We moved from the Puget Sound area in Washington, where I taught 2nd grade for 8 or 9 years (it's a sign of old age when you don't want to take the time to do the math). My husband is Brent. He also teaches, which is why we can only afford to live in the Nampa area. We have a 14 year old son named Gavin, who kicks butt in school, on the violin and apparently in the COD (Call of Duty) world. I love my beagle, Rose, because we share the same hobby (couch napping) and foods (cheese and strawberries). I am excited to be part of the BSWP as it is currently challenging me to move from being a silent leader to a more vocal, conscious leader.

Valerie - You know that Journey song - "Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world, took the midnight train going anywhere. . .just a city boy born and raised in south Detroit, took the midnight train going anywhere. . ." Well, reverse the genders and you have the story of my husband and me. . . coincidentally this was the "first dance" song at our wedding nearly two years ago. I was born and raised in Seattle, my "midnight train" took me to Washington State University (GO COUGS) for my undergraduate work in Political Science. After four amazingly hazy years I found myself in a new state, Idaho. After working at the Ada County Prosecutors office for 3 years, it became apparent I didn't have the heart to be a lawyer. The next logical step of course, was a MA in special education, duh! The past four years I have been living in this small town working with learning disabled and emotionally disturbed students. I have challenged the negative ideas surrounding special education, fighting for equal opportunities for this demographic of students. To keep myself sane I coach volleyball and track. When I am not doing that, you will find me outdoors being active, training for a race, or just lounging in the backyard with a libation to quench my thirst.

Invitational Summer Institute Leaders


 * Jim** - I see that some people (e.g., Michelle and Logan) are linking to their member profile page. I'm having a tough time figuring that out, so I'll add my information here. Feel free to do what works best for you ... A little about me ... 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 8 months or so, 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. More to come as I think of more ... Also, here's a link to a [|John Hughes montage], just so you can remember my name from the name game. (my in-progress [|website here])

Jeff -

Paula - I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with everyone this summer! The pre-institute was awesome; we have a fabulous group of DOUBLE ONES!

I'm originally from Chicago (Go Cubs!) and go there every summer to see my family (this year the first family reunion of my big, fat Italian Data family in 50 years!) I moved to Idaho Falls when I was 6, went to Holy Rosary Elementary School (when there were still nuns teaching), and graduated from Idaho Falls High School. I attended the University of Idaho for my BA then moved to Pensacola, Florida where I taught at a school for learning disabled students. I moved to Boise, taught at Centennial High for 10 years, had my amazing daughter Morgan and received my MA in English from BSU. I spent a year as a curriculum coordinator for the Meridian School District then came to Capital High where I have been for seven years. In 2005, I was in the first group of BSWP as a fellow and co-director with Jeff Wilhelm and Debbie (Thompson Moore) Foster. That summer was TRANSFORMATIVE in so many ways! At the end of BSWP I sold my house that we'd been in since my daughter's birth and bought my dream house right down the street from Capital High School. (I always wanted to walk to work). At the housewarming party my old friend from Centennial Ramey showed up and well, I didn't stay in my new house for long. Ramey and I were married in October of 2006 and I have two stepchildren--Tucker who is 9, a genius, incredibly forgetful and almost taller than me and Melia who is 8, sassy and has an infectious giggle. Morgan is 15 now, driving and quite a guitar player and music lover. I've had several roles for BSWP since my first year but am excited to co-direct again! Let's have some fun!!

Kim - I am writing my bio today.

Cecilia -


 * 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 at Anser Charter School where I teach 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 (last year was South Africa and this year may be Alaska, which counts, right?). My nerdiness used to be limited to all things literary but has now extended into tech stuff as evidenced by this wiki where you can see some of the ways I've attempted to capture and archive my students' work. (After reading this bio, my husband assured me that my nerdiness is boundless.)