Dawn Drysdale

Growing up in a small neighborhood just outside of Boston, I was surrounded by education. Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University and MIT were 10 minutes away in any direction.  I was destined to be involved in education.

 

I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts-Boston with a Bachelor's degree in English and Secondary Education, but realizing at 21 I was too young to teach high schoolers, I pursued a career in retail, working my way up to Inventory Control Manager of a 50 store chain.  I excelled in my position because I was able to make computers work for me-having always had an aptitude for languages, computers were just another language to master.

 

But education beckoned to me and I answered its call. An  after school group leader position led to a 3rd grade teaching assignment which led to a Pre-K assignment where I found a home. Shortly following my son's birth, I relocated to Central Florida and after teaching middle school and college, I found another home at University High where I have been since the school opened in 2010.

 

My son and I share a "geekiness" which has taken us to fan conventions like Mega Con and Madame Tussauds  Wax Museums whenever possible (to date, we have been to Washington DC, New York and Orlando).  I have also been lucky in that I have been able to coordinate and lead educational overseas trips with students visiting such places as Trinity College in Dublin, Notre Dame in Paris, the Acropolis in Athens, the Coliseum in Rome and the Globe Theater in London where we watched a Shakespearen play.