I think that Michael W. D. is the most memorable because he sits in the middle of lecture and always asks good questions.

When you were younger what superhero did you pretend/want to be and why?  

I never pretended to be superheroes, sorry… I was more of the nose in a book type of kid than a creative role-playing one.  My sister and I did do lots of “plays” for our parents though. 

(Amanda in a mountain bike race for the West Side Series. The race took place at the South Seatac Park.)

How was your first year in Upward Bound? Did you have a hard time working with the students?  

This is my first year with Upward Bound.  It’s been a challenging but very rewarding experience.  It is my first time teaching a lecture class and the subject matter is so interdisciplinary that much of it is outside my specialty.  I have learned a lot and enjoy trying to figure out how to keep everyone awake and alert in lecture.  It’s hard not to just fall into the trap of stuffing information into you rather than making sure everyone is learning.   

When you were little who was the best teacher you ever had?

I think the teacher who influenced me the most was my high school swim coach and an English teacher who taught a semester of English which I took as an elective my senior year.  She was right out of college when I first met her and taught me a lot about writing, swimming, and life in general.  She and I are still in touch and most recently ran into one another in Chengdu when I was in the middle of doing field work and she had taken a group of students from my alma mater to the national park I work in in northern Sichuan Province.