Meet A New Teacher: Mrs. Havard

by: Alexandra Kriegel

Every school year Wooster gains new members of our community. Many of them are students, but in this series, I will be introducing you to the 12 new faculty and staff members of our community. Next up in the series is one of our new bridge teachers, Mrs. Havard.

Why did you come to Wooster?

I've spent a decade working from home for online educational companies. Wooster's philosophy on learning drew me out of that cave and made me want to give brick and mortar a try again.

Where were you before Wooster?

I worked for Pearson - a gigantic education company that does everything from textbooks to online schools. I worked for the online school department teaching English to 11 different states. I also worked for an executive function coaching company coaching everyone from 6th graders to adults on how to help them grow their executive function skills.

What do you teach?

I am currently lucky enough to teach 10th-grade Bridge!

Where are you from?

I grew up in North Salem, NY

Where did you attend College?

I am still in college/graduate school and in my 9th year; at this point, I should be a practicing medical doctor!

What's one interesting fact about yourself?

I taught in the United Kingdom for 5 years and that is where I met my husband.

Do you have any hobbies or activities you enjoy?

Hobbies? I gave those up after I had my second child. Now for fun, I just shuttle my kids around from place to place when I am not working.

Do you have any pets?

Yes! We have a Guinea pig named Mr. Tingles who is almost 4, a Sheepadoodle named Winnifred Poppy who is 1, and a strong desire for a fish tank with a pink fluorescent fish named Sally (note: there will be no fish tank in my house; it is a disaster waiting to happen)

What are you looking forward to now that you are at Wooster?

Meeting all the amazing kids that go here!

Who's your favorite music artist and do you have a favorite genre of music?

Ugh. I am not "a favorite music" kind of person because my taste is all over the place. I binge-listen to musical artists, so I have been on Caamp for like way too long at this point. I probably listen to "All the Debts I Owe" twice a day. A month is probably way too long to be stuck to one band, right? Anyhoo, I may be moving on to other artists and genres imminently. I will NOT be listening to Christmas music though!

What's your favorite food?

Ramen. I absolutely love Japanese food in any form and when I traveled to Japan, I couldn't get over how amazing the food was!

What was your favorite subject when you were in school?

History quickly followed by English

If you could travel anywhere, where would you travel?

Brazil

Do you watch any sports and if so what are your favorite sports teams?

No way. I had this really cliche vision that I was going to bring football to my family. So I planned to cook chili and other sporty stuff on Sundays and make my kids watch it, but it did not take. Like at all. No one knew what was happening. My husband is overly excited about the World Cup, so I assume we will watch a lot of football (aka soccer) for the next two months.

Who inspired you to become a teacher?

I have had so many amazing teachers in my life but did not have any real desire to go into teaching until I had my first job working for corporate America in downtown Manhattan. That was enough to steer me far away from the offices for life. I missed kids and books more than anything, so I went back to school.