What drew you to your career?
I remember as a young girl going with my mother to what was then called La Casa de Amigos at Camp Cullen in Point Clear. It was a summer program for children of migrant workers. The goals at La Casa de Amigos were to create a safe place for migrant workers’ children, get them out of the fields and provide them with enriching learning experiences.
Another experience that influenced my career choice was my mother’s volunteer work at Fairhope Elementary School, which I attended before Bayside started. As a volunteer, my mother taught a young Hispanic girl, Maria, how to read and speak English.
Much later, long after I had graduated from high school, I became involved in the deaf ministry at my church. One of the deaf ladies taught me sign language. I began to interpret the worship service for her and her husband. Soon after that, I enrolled in the Interpreter Training Program at Bishop State Community College. As I was developing my skills and preparing for the National Interpreter Certification test, I interpreted for deaf individuals attending job training courses. I also substituted at Southwest Regional School for Deaf and Blind in Mobile. While substituting I realized I wanted to be more than a facilitator of communication; I wanted to be a teacher. So I enrolled at the University of South Alabama and obtained my undergraduate and graduate degrees in special education.
What is your proudest career accomplishment?
My proudest career accomplishment is witnessing the achievements of my students. The students I teach have emotional and behavioral needs, and many have experienced verbal, physical or sexual abuse. My students are extremely resilient, especially given the challenges many of them experience daily. Seeing the satisfaction and joy in my students’ faces for their accomplishments is definitely my proudest career moment.
What is your fondest Bayside memory?
I don’t know if you would call this my fondest memory, but it is definitely one that had a lasting impact. I remember my 8th grade civics teacher, Susan Kuster. A presidential election was occurring that year, and she wanted our class to participate in a debate. Half the class would defend the Republican views and half of the class would defend the Democratic views. We had only 18 students in our class, so we were all going to have an active role in the debate. Being in southern Alabama, few, if any, of the students signed up to defend the Democrats. Miss Kuster asked if I would be on the Democratic side of the debate. I told her I really wanted to be on the Republican side.
My family was very involved in the Republican party. My mother was in the local Republican women’s organization, and my father was an Alabama delegate to the Republican National Convention for two separate terms. In fact, during one term, Dad was chairman of the delegates. He was the one on the delegate floor who said, when the count was being taken, “The great state of Alabama casts all its votes for Richard Milhous Nixon.”
I couldn’t believe Miss Kuster would ask me to debate for the Democrats. That night I told my dad what Miss Kuster wanted me to do, and he surprised me. He encouraged me to do it and said it would be good for me. I went to school the next day and told her I would do it. That experience was a game changer for me. Miss Kuster and teachers like her make up my fondest memories of Bayside. She and other Bayside teachers taught me to think outside of my box, to ask questions and not to be afraid to challenge myself and my mind-set.
To what core Bayside value(s) do you relate the most?
I probably relate to the value of community the most. Bayside is a community, a family. Last year, my best friend from Bayside and I went to dinner. She does not live in this area, so it was the first time we had seen each other in years. We laughed and talked for hours. It felt like we had just talked yesterday; that’s the bond of Bayside.
How has Bayside helped shape you as an individual?
At Bayside I learned to face challenges and think outside the box. When my civics teacher asked me to take an opposing side in our mock debate, that experience taught me to challenge myself and my world view.
What makes Bayside special?
What makes Bayside special are the teachers, who encourage students to ask questions, challenge themselves and think outside the box. My nephew, Douglas Robertson, and the entire Bayside high school history department are such teachers.
The high school history department recently had an idea for a new class, Understanding the Southern Mystique. Last year that idea became a reality. The interdisciplinary course challenged students to investigate the concept of Southern identity through six disciplines: fine art, film, music, race relations, economics and psychology.
Lynn Oldshue, writer and editor of the magazine Southern Rambler, created a blog called Our Southern Souls – Sharing the Soul of the South One Person at a Time. Earlier this year Lynn interviewed several Bayside students about the impact the Understanding the Southern Mystique class had on them.
One student said, “The teachers jokingly called the class a revolution, but it really was for us.”
Another student said, “After this class, I want to be a civil lawyer. It changed my views on a lot of things and made me think about equal education for all Alabama kids. Now I realize I am lucky for the schools I have been to. Other kids aren’t as lucky as I am. My whole life I wanted to be an orthodontist and make a lot of money, but now I want to do things that impact the community instead of just making money. I have learned to look at other points of view. I wouldn’t have been like this without the class.”
That is exactly what makes Bayside special: teachers who challenge and inspire their students to go out into the community and impact the lives of others.
If you had one piece of advice for Bayside students, what would it be?
Be brave and never stop asking questions. In having the courage to ask questions, you will be amazed by what the answers reveal and where they lead you.
