Alumni

I graduated from Colby in 2005 with a major in Mathematics and minors in Chinese and Education. I fulfilled the requirements for teacher certification in Maine, but upon graduation I moved to China and taught English at Yuncheng University in Shanxi province for a year. I then moved to Washington, DC where I worked in a House committee office on Capitol Hill, bartended, wrote & hosted a weekly trivia night, organized a science education conference, and taught math at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School. After 2 years in DC, I taught high school math in Villa Grove, IL for 5 years. I finally went back to school and received my MS in the Teaching of Mathematics from the University of Illinois in 2015. Since then I’ve been teaching middle and high school math at Baylor School, an independent school in Chattanooga, TN.

Alea Thompson (’09) is the Director of Product and Implementation at TeachUNITED, a global education nonprofit. After beginning her career in teaching high school English, Alea moved into designing and implementing educational programs. In past roles, she has written social-emotional programs, designed blended learning courses, and headed up monitoring and evaluation studies. In her current role, she works with instructional coaches in East Africa, Latin America, and the rural United States, helping to measure the impact of TU’s programs. She’s grateful for the foundation of Colby’s education program and continues to believe that the best way to help students is to empower educators.

After graduating from Colby College in 2010, I took on an intern role at an independent boarding school in Boston, where I assisted two 4th grade classrooms, coached multiple sports, and served as a dorm parent to middle schoolers. I then pursued a masters in International Education Policy, and worked in a Boston based global education nonprofit, Primary Source, where I collaborated with a team to provide professional development to teachers to help them globalize their curricula. I missed the classroom deeply and went back to the classroom for eight years, teaching Humanities (English & Social Studies) to middle school students in three different states. At each school, I was able to build my own curricula; I could focus on bringing in cultures and ideas from around the world. Having a passion to build just and equitable systems, I was fortunate to lead different DEI initiatives at each school to help establish and strengthen their DEI goals. After having a baby this past year, I’ve stepped away from the classroom for now, and I’m working on different consulting projects with various nonprofits – from developing curricula to facilitating online courses.

Nicole Hewes (’12) currently serves as a STEM educator at Durham Community School (RSU #5). In her role, she delivers STEM instruction to 425 students in grades PreK through 8th grade. Additionally, Nicole is the teacherpreneur behind https://playfulstem.com/ and develops and sells original STEM resources in her Playful STEM store on TeachersPayTeachers. She is passionate about empowering Makers through joyful and creative learning experiences.

I am currently the dean of students at Cardigan Mountain School, an all-boys junior boarding school in Canaan, NH. I also teach English and coach soccer. During the summer, I work as the leadership director at Camp Belknap. Finally, I created GoodMenders LLC to offer training, coaching, and keynotes for youth and adults to develop moral masculinity, principled leadership, and better culture. I graduated from Colby College in 2013 and completed a masters in educational studies with UNH.

My name is Emily Sapoch ’16 and I majored in Education and Latin American Studies. After graduating, I moved to Dallas, Texas as part of Cohort 2016 of Urban Teachers (now City Teaching Alliance). Through that program, I earned my masters (MS) in elementary and special education from Johns Hopkins University SOE  in 2018 and became certified in PK-6th grade instruction, ESL, and Special Education. Since then, I have taught kindergarten and first grade in Dallas Independent School District and have been named Teacher of the Year on my campus. Currently, I teach kindergarten at Ascher Silberstein Elementary School in Dallas. My favorite part of my job is building relationships with families and teaching all of my students to read!

I am completing my Master’s in School Counseling (MSEd) at Hunter College in New York City. I spend my days counseling students at an elementary school and high school in Harlem, which has been my home since 2018. Before pursuing my Master’s in School Counseling, I worked in Development and Alumnae Relations at Barnard College for several years. I majored in English and minored in Education at Colby, and one of my best memories of being an Education student was serving as a teacher’s aide in a 4th grade classroom at the Albert Hall Elementary School in Waterville, Maine.

Miranda Shao (she/her) has dreamed of becoming a teacher since she was 9 years old. Prior to moving to Seattle, Miranda completed her Masters of Science in Elementary Education at Johns Hopkins University while also teaching 4th grade for the past 4 years in Washington DC. For the first 3 months in Seattle, she taught a morning PreK class and PreK-3rd grade after school program at a play-based private school. In November 2023, she accepted a job with the Boys and Girls Club of Bellevue as a Site Director of Jing Mei Elementary.  When she is not in the classroom, Miranda enjoys a nice cup of coffee, cooking and baking, and exploring the great outdoors!