There I was, the first morning of teacher pre-planning week, looking for the table with coffee and rolls. It was a new school for me. I was a new hire. A room full of people, but I knew no one. And there he was! A tall man with curly hair wearing a Colorado College T-shirt! A Colorado College T-shirt in Atlanta, Georgia? I introduced myself. He couldn’t have been nicer. He said he also had graduated from CC and had worn the T-shirt in my honor. What a wonderful, thoughtful thing to do! And that is how I met fellow CC alumnus and our school art teacher Steve Shaw ’87.

We teach at the Schenck School in Atlanta, a school for 250 dyslexic children, grades kindergarten through sixth grade. Our classes are small — 10 children with two master teachers. We use a specialized system called the Orton-Gillingham approach to teach children to read, spell, and write the English language.

Steve, who graduated with a business/econ major, came to the Schenck School after spending some years working in corporate business and as captain of a tourist sailboat in Florida. After obtaining a degree in education, he has been at the Schenck School teaching art for 20 years.

After my graduation, I married an Air Force pilot. During 23 reassignment moves, I taught elementary school in nine states and for the Department of Defense. I obtained an M.Ed. at the College of William & Mary, then moved to Atlanta when my husband went to work for Delta Air Lines. I taught at the Westminster Schools for 16 years and came to the Schenck School eight years ago, where I presently teach second grade. Although I will consider retirement in the near future, for now I truly enjoy teaching in this special, happy place “after all these years!”