Our Owl Professors
Laurie Alsobrook, M.Ed.
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: I love mystery stories of all kinds! I especially like Agatha Christie and Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series. My favorite classic is Pride and Prejudice or anything Jane Austin and my favorite book I last read is Cloud Cuckoo Land.
Favorite Video Game: Any of The Room series (more mysteries and puzzles!)
My Favorite Place: Maine, with my family
Tina Alwin
Teacher
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Favorite Series: Ted Lasso
Favorite Place: Bora Bora
Favorite Sport: Pickleball and cycling
Kiley Armstrong, M.Ed.
Instructional Design Learning Leader
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Favorite Author: I love Fredrik Backman but will read just about anything!
Favorite Place: The beach or home with my family
Favorite Team: Texas A&M, WHOOP!
Chad Baker
Teacher
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Favorite Author: Dr. Seuss (I have 2 kids under 3... This is the only reading I get to do these days)
Favorite Video Game: Facebook Marketplace (It's like a game.) :D
Favorite Movie: The Great British Bake Off (also the Junior Bake Off)
Courtney Barton
Teacher
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Favorite Author(s): James Patterson, Robin Cook, and Jeffrey Deaver
Favorite Band: Metallica
Favorite Team: Texas A&M Aggies!
Charlotte Beakley
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Author/Genre: I love historical fiction. Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors. A fun series I love as a science teacher is the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley.
Favorite Movie: Lord of the Rings trilogy
Favorite Band: Chicago
Amy Briggs
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: I love anything and everything history (of course)! My favorite historical fiction writers are Kristin Hannah and Amor Towles and my favorite historical nonfiction writers are Erik Larson and H.W. Brands.
Favorite Show/Series: Parks and Recreation
Favorite Band: Sylvan Esso and/or ODESZA
Lucas Burch
Teacher / Social Studies & CTE Learning Leader
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Favorite Book: I don't have one favorite but a recent book I really enjoyed was Scars and Stripes by former American special forces soldier, Tim Kennedy. It was a wild ride of a true-story book and I really enjoyed it.
Favorite Place: British Columbia, Canada is one of my favorite places. It's nature at its finest.
Favorite Sport: My favorite sport is beach volleyball. I played for many, many years and loved everything about it. It's a fun and challenging, underrated sport.
Jen Carlin, M.S.
Teacher
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Favorite Place: The Northwoods in Wisconsin is my go to place! Hearing the loons on the lake and cross country skiing in the quiet woods. . . nothing like it!
My Hero: My mom. No question. The woman has lived through it all with grace and strength.
Favorite Team: Since I married a MASSIVE Chicago Bears fan, they have become my favorite team, too! We love going to games up in Chicago when the snow is thick and "real" fans stay to the end!
Neely Carter
Teacher
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Favorite Book: I love the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child
Favorite Video Game: Mario Kart
Favorite Band/Artist: Olivia Rodrigo
Kyle Cheung
Teacher
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Favorite Series: Parks and Recreation
Favorite Place: Hong Kong
Favorite Sport: Basketball
Michael Cram
Teacher
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Favorite Movie: There are so many good films, it's hard to name just one, so I usually settle on favorite bodies of work from my favorite directors. One of my favorite directors is Wes Anderson, and I especially enjoy "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel."
Favorite Band/Artist: This is another tough question to narrow down to a single answer, so I'll name one for each decade: 1960s: The Beatles, 1970s: Talking Heads, 1980s: New Order, Early 1990s: Nirvana, Late 1990's: Elliott Smith, 2000s: The Strokes, 2010s: Tame Impala.
Favorite Place: My favorite places are the Mediterranean Coast (the South of France and Positano Italy), as well as Southern California.
Angie Curtis
Teacher
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Favorite Movie: A League of Their Own
Favorite Band/Artist: Alanis Morsette
My Hero: Coach Hosea Bell-College Coach
Mallory D'Aliso
Teacher
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Favorite Author: Recently, Colleen Hoover
Favorite Video Game: From my childhood, Mario Super Smash Brothers
Favorite Place: By the ocean!
Heather Davis, M.A.
Teacher
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Favorite Movie: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Favorite Place: Beach...any beach!
Favorite Sport: Football, baseball, soccer, basketball, wake surfing!
Dr. Michelle Domergue
Teacher
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Favorite Book: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Favorite Band: Queen (with Freddy)
Favorite Place: Scuba diving in Cozumel with my family
Seth Duban, M. Ed.
Teacher
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Favorite Video Game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Favorite Place: New Zealand (but I want to visit Japan!)
Favorite Sport: Tennis
Christopher Duran, M.S.
Teacher
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Favorite BookGenre: Sci-fi/fantasy
Favorite Movies: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars
Favorite Place: Colorado
Amanda Fedorko
Teacher
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Favorite Video Game: Skyrim
Favorite Series: Supernatural
Favorite Genre of Music: 90s rock/alternative
Elizabeth Goossen, M.ED.
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: Love a good mystery!
Favorite Series: Bob's Burgers
Favorite Place: Anywhere with my family.
Nicole Griffin
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: Chronicles of The One by Nora Roberts. I love Sci-Fi and Fantasy, if it has witches, fae and magic better! 🧙♀️
Favorite Series: Gilmore Girls, Friends, Vampire Diaries
Favorite Place: Give me the ocean and I'm happy! My favorite beach is Flamenco Beach in Culebra, Puerto Rico.
Bobby Hall
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: There are too many great books to choose only one, but some of my favorites include The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Unwind by Neal Shusterman, and Legend by Marie Lu.
Favorite Video Game: Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time
Favorite Band/Artist: Dashboard Confessional
Chad Hannon
Teacher
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Favorite Video Game: I've been playing Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom nonstop! My daughter Emerson really wants her Switch back...
Favorite Movie: I'm a huge fan of the 1956 film, "Giant." It tells the epic story of a Texas family changing with the times.
Favorite Place: Texas! I love exploring our great state! They say it is like a whole other country and I couldn't agree more.
Michelle Holt, M.Ed.
Teacher
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Favorite Video Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Favorite Band: The Beatles
Favorite Place: Scotland
Jessica Horning, MBA, MS
Instructional Designer
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Favorite Books: Harry Potter and the Sword of Truth are my favorite book series.
Favorite Video Games: Legend of Zelda series
Favorite Band/Artist: Taylor Swift!
Jessica Kasprowicz, M. Ed.
Instructional Designer
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Favorite Band/Artist: Lauren Daigle
Favorite Place: Being at home, rocking outside on our porch and visiting with family and friends while we watch our kids play together.
Favorite Team: Texas A&M! WHOOP!
Tammy Long
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: Sci-fi/fantasy
Favorite Video Game: Galaga
Favorite Movie: The Man from Snowy River
Kelsie Matthews, M.Ed.
Teacher / ELA/LOTE Learning Leader
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Favorite Book/Genre: I love to read a little bit of everything- I generally stick with the fantasy, dystopian, and sci-fi genres most frequently!
Favorite Series: Gilmore Girls
Favorite Team: Texas Tech
Laurel McClanahan, M.Ed.
Instructional Designer
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Favorite Series: My favorite tv series are Parks & Rec, Schitt's Creek, Loki, WandaVision, Law & Order: SVU, and NCIS.
Favorite Band/Artist: I love Sam Smith, the Weeknd, Teddy Swims, and Justin Timberlake
Favorite Sport/Team: My favorite sports teams are the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Cubs! My favorite (retired) tennis player is Roger Federer!
Suzanne McFarland, M.A.
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: Murder mysteries and fiction in general
Favorite Video Game: Pacman (Can you tell I don't play video games?)
Favorite Movies: Anything Marvel
Emily Merrick
Teacher
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Favorite Food: Pizza, pasta (anything in the carb family)
Favorite Season: Fall
Favorite Holiday: Christmas
Someone I admire: My husband. He’s so hardworking, patient and fun to be around
My Favorite Place: South Lake Tahoe or any beach
My Life Motto: What we know matters but who we are matters more. - Brene Brown
Amy Mount
Instructional Designer
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Favorite Book/Genre: Historical fiction as fast as I can read it!
Favorite Place: The beach with that book I mentioned above, a Snapple, and a bag of Twizzlers.
Favorite Team: The Ohio State Buckeyes! I married into this fan club and I love it!
Cheri Palmer, M.A.
Teacher
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Favorite Book: The Harry Potter Series in its entirety.
Favorite Video Game: The original Super Mario Brothers 1, 2 and 3!
Favorite Movie: Top Gun and now Top Gun 2!
Jerry Price, MBA
Teacher
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Favorite Movie: Mission Impossible
Favorite Place: My favorite place to be is in a national park, especially one that has lots of mountains and wildlife.
Favorite Sport: Cycling & swimming are my favorite sports.
Carolyn Province
Teacher
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Favorite Author: Janet Evanovich -- the perfect combination of mystery and humor!
Favorite Place: Pentwater, Michigan (No, seriously, Google it!)
Favorite Team: All things Tennessee Volunteers! Go Big Orange!
Steven Rains
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: Sherlock Holmes or Dystopian
Favorite Video Game: Star Wars Battlefront 2 on XBox 360
Favorite Series: Mandalorian
Rachel Seldon
Instructional Designer
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Favorite Place: Maui, Hawaii
Favorite Team: Texas Tech Red Raiders!
Favorite Series: Bones
Brian Sexton, M. Ed.
Teacher
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Favorite Video Game: I love Sudoku! Especially variants. They make my brain work better.
Favorite Movie: Anything Star Wars - I have seen EVERY one of them in the theatre when they were released. (And I met Darth Vader)
Favorite Place: Anywhere my family is
Ashley Solano
Teacher
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Favorite Movie: Any Adam Sandler movie
Favorite Band: A Boulder, CO based duo called Big Gigantic! 🎷 (Electronic, Hip Hop, Funk)
Favorite Place: Breckenridge, CO ❄️
Katie Thrailkill, M. Ed.
Teacher
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Favorite Series: My favorite series is tied between FRIENDS & Ted Lasso. I'm a sucker for good pals and happy endings.
Favorite Place: My favorite place in the world is Italy, so far. It has EVERYTHING - food, history, coast, mountains, and more food. I'd go back every year if I could!
Hero: My hero is my dad. People use "only the good words" to describe him, just how it should be! He's never met a stranger, remembers details, helps everyone and laughs easily.
Jena Toich, M.A.
Teacher
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Favorite Book: I'm definitely team book. My favorite books/series are Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Twilight, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.
Favorite Band/Artist: My favorite artist is Taylor Swift. I'm a huge fan and have been able to attend 2 of her concerts. I'm in my iUP era.
Favorite Team: I enjoy watching The Dallas Cowboys, The Mavericks, and any sport my daughter or students are playing
Kaitlyn Travis, M.A.
Teacher
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Favorite Video Game: Mario Kart and the old SNES games
Favorite Place: the mountains in the summertime
Hero: Corrie Ten Boom
William Miller Walker, M.Ed.
Teacher
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Favorite Band/Artist: Lady Gaga
Favorite Place: France
Hero: My mother
Marci Ward, M. Ed.
Teacher
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Favorite Band/Artist: Taylor Swift. I'm a 1989 and Folklore girl.
Hero: My mom. She is the kindest person I know.
Favorite Team/Sport: I just hope both teams have fun!
Daniel Wennersten
Teacher and Math Learning Leader
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Favorite Author: C.S. Lewis
Favorite Place: The Green Mountains of Vermont
Favorite Movie: Star Wars (in general)
Ashley White, M. Ed.
Instructional Designer
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Favorite Book/Genre: I like to read multi-volume works because once I love the characters I don't want their story to ever end. Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Murder She Baked just to name a few.
Favorite Place: My favorite place is sitting outside, by a creek/river, listening to the water ripple by, crisp air and the smell of a campfire nearby.
Favorite Sport: I love college football season because it brings about the fall weather with family and friends gathered and spending time together.
Jenna Williams
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: I can't choose just one book, but I love the fantasy, dystopian, paranormal, and real-life fiction genres!
Favorite Video Game: I'm always up for a good Mario Kart race!
Favorite Movie: I love the Harry Potter series! Gryffindor all the way!
Sierra Williams
Teacher
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Favorite Book/Genre: I love to read mysteries, because I love trying to figure it out before the plot unravels.
Hero: My hero is my husband. The man is so positive, caring, level headed, but keeps it real. I'm someone that tends to stress and he always keeps me rooted in the good. He's also really nice to look at and keeps me laughing!
Favorite Team: My favorite teams are the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks. We will be great again, someday! ( I hope...)