Q: Why are you retiring at the end of this year?

A: This year is my 44th year in the classroom and I am 67 years old. It’s time to spend more time with my family and do things that teaching school for 4 decades has prevented me from doing.

Q: How do you feel about retirement?

A: I’m actually not really thinking about it yet. I intend to teach every day this year as I have always done. However, since I have been involved in extra-curricular activities my entire career, there will definitely be a void to fill…but only after a very long nap!

Q: What have been some of your favorite experiences at Davis High School?

A: Anything involving the Student Body Officers — I love them as much as my own children. Together we have produced over 200 assemblies; at least 100 dances; and countless service projects. I love watching high school sports. I loved “knowing and loving” the old Davis High building; and I loved being a part of transitioning to the new Davis High. This 100 Year Centennial Celebration has been special. It has been my privilege to know and love the faculty of Davis High — there is no other group as talented and caring as they are. Many of them are very personal friends. I am also very proud of how well my French students have represented our school on Le Grand Concours — The National French Exam of the American Association of Teachers of French.

Q: How long have you been at Davis High?

A: 26 years. (I taught at North Davis Junior High for 18 years prior to coming to Davis.)

Q: What type of legacy do you want to leave behind?

A: I hope my students will know that I loved being with them for most of my life. My students’ abilities to master the French language or become leaders is secondary to the thousands of personal relationships that I have made with students and faculty members. It has always been my goal to verify the importance of extra-curricular activities coupled with academic excellence.

Q: What are your plans after this year?

A: My plans are uncertain at this point; but there is a portion of my heart that Davis High will forever hold hostage.

Q: How was your overall experience at Davis High?

A: Coming to Davis High was the best professional decision I ever made. When I left North Davis Jr. High after 18 years, I swore that I would never again stay in the same place that long. That was a naive statement because I had no idea what a unique experience Davis High School is. In retrospect, I can’t imagine my life without Davis High.

Q: If you could go back and change one thing in your career, what would it be and why?

A: When I was in 8th grade, I watched one of my teachers publicly humiliate one of my classmates. I didn’t know then that I would become a teacher, but I knew for certain that there was a better way. That experience has guided me throughout my career as a constant reminder that relationships and mutual respect enable all other educational experiences to succeed. the only thing I would change would be to have laughed and loved more, and to have never taken anyone’s heart for granted.

My favorite quote in life has always been: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming, ‘Wow what a ride!’”