A very talented theater teacher and director once said to me, “teaching high school drama is really teaching self-esteem through the experience of creating high-quality Theater.” Every single drama exercise, performance, and character study that a high school student participates in teaches them about themselves in a way that can be hard to define. Each challenge, fear, and struggle that culminates in a failure or success is a learning moment. It is a learning moment about drama, themselves, and life. Each drama activity is about problem solving – a life skill that I feel is one of the most valuable. So why is teaching theater so important to me? I spent most of my high school years trying to figure out who I was, and I didn’t excel in the same areas that my peers did. It was difficult for me to feel confident except when it came to drama. It made me feel talented, important, and even beautiful. Each day that I have the privilege to teach teenagers to love themselves through the study of theater is what makes me feel alive. I feel so fulfilled by watching a student tackle the obstacles of learning how to use their bodies and voices and minds to learn about what kind of person they are becoming. It is one of the most electrifying experiences I know of. I look forward to starting my twentieth year teaching, advising, directing and producing plays here at Beaver. I am also a big fan of all that is pop culture, movies and TV watching. I spend as much time as I can with my husband, my two cats, Chrissy and Janet, and laughing with my seven-year-old son Gus.