A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E - Colby-Sawyer College

Live What You Teach
Mark Pedersen ’00
Growing up in suburban Long
Island, Mark Pedersen ’00 knew
there were two things he wanted
out of life: to enjoy the outdoors
and to be a teacher. Now a high
school science teacher in the seacoast
town of Plaistow, N.H., Mark
has perfectly realized his two childhood
goals. For his commitment to
environmentalism and his ability to
effectively share that passion with his students, he was named
the 2011 New Hampshire Environmental Educator of the Year for
secondary schools.
Pedersen has taught at Timberlane High School for 11 years,
taking a job there during the spring semester of his senior year at
Colby-Sawyer. “Teaching is in my blood,” he says, and he means
it—his father taught high school math and his mother was a nursery
school teacher. While at Timberlane, Pedersen has introduced
numerous initiatives, including a student-led energy audit that
resulted in reduced energy cost, school-wide recycling, an environmental
service club, various ecological research projects, and an
annual coastal cleanup.
“Some of these kids,” Pedersen says, “have never really been
outside the seacoast of New Hampshire. They don’t know the world
around them, the issues, and they appreciate that I open their
eyes.” Pedersen stresses that he avoids preaching to his students,
preferring to guide them into generating their own discussions.
A perennial Dean’s List student while majoring in biology at
Colby-Sawyer, Pedersen counts among his influences Professor Ben
Steele for the way he combined in-class instruction with field trips,
and Assistant Professor Laura Alexander, who introduced him to
the joy of winter hiking.
Being honored for his service means a lot to Pedersen, because
the award doesn’t simply recognize how he teaches but also how
he chooses to live his life. As he says, “Math teachers don’t go
home and constantly think about math. Most environmental educators
live the way we teach. If we’re going to talk about saving
the planet, we live that way.”
–Mike Gregory
years. He writes, “I have turned
my Christmas Party into the ‘Not
on Christmas, Christmas Party’
that my wife Sarah and I host
after the long holiday season.
This year it was the 11th Annual
on Feb. 19 and we had a great
turnout, including Seth Hurley
’00, Nicholas Burchard, Shane
Hoover, Frank B. Abel IV ’97,
Chad O’Neill, Jamie Gilbert ’98
and Amy Hall Oliver.” Laura
Anderson currently resides in
Norwich, CT. She’s engaged to
Charles Yeager, also originally
68 COLBY-SAWYER ALUMNI MAGAZINE
from Norwich; a Nov. 2012 wedding
is planned. She completed
her master’s degree in elementary
ed. from Sacred Heart U. and is
currently teaching preschool in
a Head Start classroom. As for
me, Suzanne Blake Gerety, it’s
been a year of growth for my
online publishing and consulting
business, DanceStudioOwner.
com. This year I’ve been writing
a monthly column called “Ask
the Experts” for Dance Teacher
Magazine, which has been an
incredible opportunity to work
Erin Ward Maciorowski ’99 and her husband, Kevin, with their children Ryan
and Gabriella.
with more dance teachers and
studio owners all over the world
who ask for advice with issues
related to the business side of
running their dance studios.
Thanks again for staying in
touch. Connect on Facebook
anytime!
2000
Jennifer Prudden Montgomery
147 Grove Street
Melrose, MA 02176
(978) 852-2601
e-mail: jprudden@yahoo.com
Tara Schirm Campanella
978 Jubilee Court
Lemoore, CA 93245
e-mail:
taracampanella@hotmail.com
Hi, Class of ’00! Things are
pretty much the same for me.
I (Jen Prudden Montgomery)
am still living in Melrose, MA,
with my husband, Brian, and
our chocolate lab, Hinckley. I
still teach 3rd grade in Andover,
MA, and coach girls’ high school
soccer and lacrosse. I have seen
Jess Dannecker, Chuck Gaede,
Brett Gaede ’02, Kate Lovell,
Zanna Campbell Blaney and
Katie Sykes Follis since our
last update. Please make sure
to keep sending your updates!
Here’s what I heard from our fellow
classmates: Kurt Svoboda
and his wife, Joanna, welcomed
their 1st child on Jan. 6. Jaxon
Gold Svoboda was born at 1:24,
weighing in at 5 lbs, 4 oz and
17¾ inches long. Jaxon was 2
weeks early but they were well-
prepared, and had everything
needed already in the car. Kurt
sent a couple of photos including
one of Jaxon with a blanket supplied
by Andrea Lemire St.Onge
’99 and Eric St. Onge ’99. Tom
Eckfeldt writes, “I write this
e-mail from my hotel room in
Crans-Montana, Switzerland, the
venue for the FIS Alpine World
Junior Championships. Currently
I am a ski coach for the Men’s US
Ski Team. I work with the Men’s
Europa Cup group. We are based
about half the season in the US,
racing at the Nor Am level, and
the other half in Europe, training
and competing at European
Cups as well as select World
Cup events. When I’m back
in the US, Salt Lake City, UT,
is my home as I just bought a
house there last summer with
my fiancée, Kim.” Tom and Kim
planned to get married May 6 in
Cancun, Mexico, and hoped to
see several CSC alums including
Jesse Worobel ’01, Jacki Woyda
Worobel, Drew Drummond
’02, Amy Potter Drummond,
and maybe even Justin Hersh.
Newborn Jaxon Gold Svoboda cuddles
up with dad, Kurt Svoboda ’00.