Suzi Montgomery - Creative Director
"Education is a roller coaster. Everyone gets a different ride."
A friend of mine used this slogan for her Master's thesis and it keeps coming back to me as indicative of my life. I have never, in any direct manner, pursued the field of education or set out to be a teacher. However, no matter what I do, or wherever I go, I end up teaching.
It is here, in the world of education, that I am happiest. I am from the city of Edmonton, which lies in the northern plains of Alberta. I grew up in a large family who encouraged an array of academic pursuits, and studied Anthropology at the University of Alberta. Not uncommon to Anthropology graduates, I landed a job as a server and delved into extracurricular activities including writing for local papers, water polo and French conversational group discussions in cafes.
Soon after graduating, I found my self en route to Utah to snowboard for a season. What was to be a short sojourn turned into a long-term love affair with the mountains that has lasted, so far, 10 years.
To supplement snowboarding, I began writing for ZiNj, a science magazine for kids, put out by the State Archaeologist, and, tutoring girls from the Salt Lake projects. I also decided to take a GMAT prep course with thoughts of business school, which turned instead into a teaching job when I was asked to teach the prep course itself for the Princeton Review.
Thus begins my journey into education. Since then, rather unconsciously until now, I have been a teacher. My volunteer job with the science magazine evolved into an educational project in a Southern Utah ghost town, where I taught kids about archaeology.
While preaching the importance of preserving the past, I got into oral history and began interviewing and documenting the culture of the Southern Utah ranching community spanning the last 100 years. This was an incredible multidimensional project, as it took place in a rather volatile political climate. I was again learning and teaching through community outreach presentations, consortiums and basically a good deal of explaining and sharing information.
Three years later, while dining at an Italian restaurant with some friends, I ran into a woman who rekindled a dormant interest of mine, and within months I was accepted into a Masters of French Literature program at the University of Utah. The Department of Languages offered me a teaching position to pay my tuition, and so every day for two years I studied French literature and taught university French courses.
The teaching ended up for me to be the most valuable part of my experience. I had endless energy for novel lesson plans that would generate smiles and spark interest in seeing new perspectives through language. The setting was fast and furious, and even so, for me, the pure enjoyment of teaching and learning always floated to the top.
Higher Ground is an incredible environment for both teacher and student, as here it is all about learning and sharing and finding the most interesting ways to do so. Between the incredibly talented staff, the infinite opportunities to be creative, and the energy here to make so much possible for youth in the community, I have again landed in education, and for now it is where I will stay.
A friend of mine used this slogan for her Master's thesis and it keeps coming back to me as indicative of my life. I have never, in any direct manner, pursued the field of education or set out to be a teacher. However, no matter what I do, or wherever I go, I end up teaching.
It is here, in the world of education, that I am happiest. I am from the city of Edmonton, which lies in the northern plains of Alberta. I grew up in a large family who encouraged an array of academic pursuits, and studied Anthropology at the University of Alberta. Not uncommon to Anthropology graduates, I landed a job as a server and delved into extracurricular activities including writing for local papers, water polo and French conversational group discussions in cafes.
Soon after graduating, I found my self en route to Utah to snowboard for a season. What was to be a short sojourn turned into a long-term love affair with the mountains that has lasted, so far, 10 years.
To supplement snowboarding, I began writing for ZiNj, a science magazine for kids, put out by the State Archaeologist, and, tutoring girls from the Salt Lake projects. I also decided to take a GMAT prep course with thoughts of business school, which turned instead into a teaching job when I was asked to teach the prep course itself for the Princeton Review.
Thus begins my journey into education. Since then, rather unconsciously until now, I have been a teacher. My volunteer job with the science magazine evolved into an educational project in a Southern Utah ghost town, where I taught kids about archaeology.
While preaching the importance of preserving the past, I got into oral history and began interviewing and documenting the culture of the Southern Utah ranching community spanning the last 100 years. This was an incredible multidimensional project, as it took place in a rather volatile political climate. I was again learning and teaching through community outreach presentations, consortiums and basically a good deal of explaining and sharing information.
Three years later, while dining at an Italian restaurant with some friends, I ran into a woman who rekindled a dormant interest of mine, and within months I was accepted into a Masters of French Literature program at the University of Utah. The Department of Languages offered me a teaching position to pay my tuition, and so every day for two years I studied French literature and taught university French courses.
The teaching ended up for me to be the most valuable part of my experience. I had endless energy for novel lesson plans that would generate smiles and spark interest in seeing new perspectives through language. The setting was fast and furious, and even so, for me, the pure enjoyment of teaching and learning always floated to the top.
Higher Ground is an incredible environment for both teacher and student, as here it is all about learning and sharing and finding the most interesting ways to do so. Between the incredibly talented staff, the infinite opportunities to be creative, and the energy here to make so much possible for youth in the community, I have again landed in education, and for now it is where I will stay.
