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About Lyssa:

“What mazes there are in this world…none more complicated than the human brain, Etienne would say, what may be the most complex object in existence; one wet kilogram within which spin universes.”

  • Anthony Doerr, All The Light We Cannot See

 

What better way to learn about all of these universes than to teach and explore each student’s mind? I think that is my favorite part about being an educator. I am given the privilege to access a student’s brain, help develop ideas and opinions, and provide the tools needed to make that mind more powerful than it was the day before.

 

My passion for education started when I attended Loyola University in Chicago where, before receiving my B.S.Ed. in Secondary Education and my B.A. in English, I was able to spend a lot of time working in Chicago’s inner-city schools. After graduating and working a few odd jobs, I found a teaching position at one of Chicago’s charter schools servicing students from violent neighborhoods. This experience solidified my desire to use my platform as an educator to transform my students into social activists.

 

This desire continued to grow as my husband, a Marine Corps pilot, and I moved to San Diego and I began the job hunt. The minute I heard about the High Tech High network and visited the campus, I just about died of joy. There were incredible murals on the wall. There were lamps, made and sold by students, on display in the community room. Teachers were cracking up with students, and students were discussing the most recent book they had read to prepare them for a meeting with a community activist. It was love at first sight.

 

When I am not working, I am probably doing yoga, exploring the city, running around Balboa Park, attempting to conquer my fear of the ocean by paddle boarding, eating delicious food with my husband and our friends, or trying to get through my ridiculously long list of books I want to read.

 

I am so eager to meet my new wonderful class of 9th graders and to join the High Tech High International community. I have butterflies anticipating all of the amazing conversations I will have with our students about establishing our voice in the community, about how this world would stop spinning without pizza, about how many hours I spend watching baby animal videos on YouTube, and about how we wish the world was made of chocolate and books.

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