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She loves learning about native plants, meeting new animal friends, and crafting— though her handiwork wouldn’t win any awards. Talk to her about old movies, celebrity gossip, and weird trivia, and you’ll be friends for life.
She has her BA in English from Reed College in Portland, OR, and her PhD. in English from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She loves her wife and their two pets together: Jasper the dog and Frida the cat.


-David Goggins
Clearly, at this point in Ross' life, he saw that the farther south one travels, the better. Which is why, without surprise, his next journey led him to High Tech High in San Diego, another few hundred miles south. While he is sure that he can bring students many creative and fresh approaches to real world applications through his teaching, he worries about one thing: graphs have been drawn up plotting Ross' southern migration and extensive research shows that with his current rate of travel, he will end up in Mazatlan, Mexico within sixteen years. But until then, Ross plans to inspire and encourage students by personalizing his curriculum around not only their life, but by matching the curriculum up with the world of today and the skills needed to compete in it.
Yet when Ross isn't busy enlightening young minds, he finds time to play piano, read books, and surf badly. He also claims to have invented the "U-Turn" blinker, but as of yet, cannot find a buyer. He believes reading is cool...really.
The particulars:
Robert E. Cook Honors College at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Arts, Summa Cum Laude, 2008.
San Diego State University, Teacher Credential Program, 2017.
Ms. Nichols did her undergraduate work at Indiana University and earned her MS in Curriculum and Instruction from Indiana University's School of Education. She has had the pleasure of teaching for twenty years in Indiana, New York, and California.
When she is not teaching, Ms. Nichols loves to be involved in athletics, both as a coach and as a participant. She has coached one Olympian, a few teams of Special Olympians, and many other athletes. Ms. Nichols loves to read, travel, watch films, and play all types of games. When school is not in session, you will find Ms. Nichols spending time with her wife and daughter.
This year will be my 10th year as a teacher and first as a father. I am so proud to introduce my new daughter, Maylee Rose, to the HTHI community, and hope that she will get included in some of the class projects this year, haha! 10 years... where has the time gone! During this time I have organized projects on forensic biology, biomimicry, animal enrichment, and more. I am very excited to be working with my new HTHI students this year, and helping them explore the world of biology through new projects and engaging labs.
More about me: I am native to California, born and raised on the central coast. I received my bachelor’s degree at Azusa Pacific University, but did not start pursuing my passion for teaching science until after college. Outside of school, I love to spend time with my family, play games/sports, take photographs, and use Bitmojis. I also love to travel and experience the wide variety of human cultures and biodiversity our planet has to offer.

Dane’s infant-pod-spaceship crash landed somewhere in middle America–a land known as Nebraska. Being just shy of two years old, he was forced to migrate West with his parents and two brothers to Colorado. The next few years were spent dreaming of what lay on the other side of the Rocky Mountains. Soon, he and his family drove Wester over the mountains, ending up in California, his new home. He was warmly welcomed by the sunny state with its hip vibes and fresh threads.
Through a quick warp of space-time, our story–and Dane–moves forward as he attended the University of California, Riverside where he studied Biology. While working as a designer at the regional newspaper he soon realized that science was just his hobby, and he moved even more West to attend the California State Polytechnic University of Pomona where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. From there it was South, past the Salmon of Capistrano, to San Diego where he has lived for 1.5 decades. In this time here he has used his vast knowledge and quick wits mastering the fields of web & graphic design, web development, photography and various new emerging medias like virtual reality.
Dane enjoys running, playing with his son, woodworking, and writing on one of his 7 novels which are each between 45-78% complete.
My name is Geneva Clark and I am the Environmental Science teacher at High Tech High International. I am currently teaching at the 12th grade level, and words cannot even describe how blessed I feel to be here as a blessing unto others. From the students and parents to my fellow staff members, I know that I have finally found my special place in this Universe. Everyone is family to me, and day by day it feels like we are all arriving from a journey together. Each positive and teachable moment is a reminder of why I am here, and how I am creating a brighter future for myself and others. Because of my family situation I grew up moving around a lot, but ultimately I found my way to San Diego State University where I got my Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science. Having a background in multidisciplinary science gave me a planetary perspective on how everything is connected to a greater whole, and it also elevated my awareness on how human activities are also changing the Earth as we know it. My passion for scientific knowledge, higher truth, and human connection aligned my path into becoming a teacher and lifelong learner. As a result, I returned to San Diego State University to pursue their teaching credential program within secondary math and science. I graduated from the School of Teacher Education holding a dual credential in Earth/Space Science and Biology with a CLAD Authorization. My next steps are to obtain a master’s degree in the art of teaching that focuses on biological sciences through the Advanced Inquiry Program with Project Dragonfly accredited through Miami University with San Diego Zoo Global as my Master Institution. With that being said, I am an Aztec for Life! I want to thank all of the educators who have impacted my life: my teachers growing up, my professors/mentors at SDSU, my guide teachers within my credential program, and all of the educators I have gotten to know within the HTH community. All of you represent the heart of what I do. Most of all I want to thank my parents and relatives for continuously supporting my dreams through their love and guiding light. Dedicating my life to others has given me the opportunity to reach my highest potential. I hope to bring out the highest potential in all people. Lastly I will share my greatest mantra: the more I can learn, the more I can teach- change yourself and you’ve changed the world!
With his mind set on studying fine art he chose to transfer to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in his junior year. Deciding that winters in Santa Cruz were friendlier and that being in a school full of pretentious artists added to an already chilly winter, he transferred back to UCSC to complete his senior year and graduate with a BA in Fine Art. A couple years later he went to grad school in Oakland, CA and received an MFA from the California College of Art.
Jeremy moved to the Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco and found a job in a mural painting studio. He worked full-time for a couple of years painting large scale murals, mostly for hotels and casino’s such as; Caesar’s Palace, the MGM Grand, Harrah’s, and Disney to name a few. He then left San Francisco to pursue an independent art career in San Diego. He found reasonable success, exhibiting in galleries and selling paintings to residences and corporate businesses such as; Nokia, Merck Pharmaceuticals, the Bellagio and Fairmont Hotels, City National Bank…the list goes on.
In 2003 he joined forces with a few friends to open the Cassius King Gallery in the Gaslamp District, downtown, San Diego. This hip, underground venue lasted nearly two years and showed great up and coming artists and bands from around the nation. Since then Jeremy has found comfort teaching with the wonderful people of HTHI. All the while he continues to paint, play music, travel and surf.
She received her BA in English from UC Davis, her MA in English (contemporary American literature) from San Diego State University, and her PhD in literature (children's and YA literature, comics, mental illness and disability studies, gender and race, and the history of mental health care).
When not teaching or wandering the halls of High Tech High International hoping someone will guide her to whatever meeting she is supposed to be attending, Sarah can be found reading, watching RuPaul's Drag Race or far too many Bravo shows than she would like to admit, eating ALL OF THE FOOD, and spending too much money in order to try out a new craft.
She has a husband with a very nice beard and many tattoos, a seven year-old daughter who is obsessed with animals/reading/drawing, a three year-old daughter who is busy causing chaos and being unbelievably cute, and an almost-two-year-old daughter with red hair who is always very busy plotting to overthrow the patriarchy. She also has two rescued dogs, Walter and Lulu, and a rescued cat named Amelia.
In 2009, Karen joined the HTHI community as Site Manager. She loves spending her day with high schoolers. She would say that where teachers have their students for one semester, she is in the unique position to get know and support students and their families for the whole four years of high school.
Karen has 3 daughters that have grown up in the HTH system. In her spare time she enjoys going to Disneyland and Comic Con with her daughter along with bowling and just hanging out.


On Erik's spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children. An added bonus would include spending time with extended family, enjoying the outdoors, and riding his mountain bike.

I'm a relatively new transplant from Hilo, Hawaii. My psychology history began as a senior in high school, where I became so interested in learning about "why people do what they do," I took Psych in the fall and AP Psych in the spring, and knew it would become my future. I received my undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. Before applying to graduate school, I worked as a researcher at the Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, HI. My project focused on the effects of culture-based education on student academics and well-being. I then headed back to the northwest to receive my Education Specialist degree in School Psychology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. I returned home where I was a school psychologist for nine years. I then took up the exciting opportunity to relocate to San Diego and High Tech High (Elementary and International) with my family. I love this profession as a combination of edu cation and psychology, and have special interests in executive functioning, cultural/ethnic identity, mindfulness, and resiliency.
As a self-identified "nerd" and "lifelong learner," I am always looking for opportunities to learn more about myself, others, and helping others learn more about themselves. I identify with traits such as "introvert, "empath," and "Highly Sensitive Person," and believe that these qualities allow me the compassion, care, strength, and drive to help others define and develop themselves to succeed (their definition of the word). When not doing this, I am exploring San Diego with my little family.
Some of my favorite things include: nature, the ocean (it's cold here!), traveling, Harry Potter (Hufflepuff represent!), sea otters, baking, learning and experiencing other cultures, spa activities, my family, and animal encounters.



Even when she is not working with students on their speech and language skills, she still chooses to spend most of her free time reading, writing or doing crossword puzzles. She can't get enough of language! She also loves improving her gardening skills and going on exploratory walks around her neighborhood.
My other hobbies and passions include reading, photography, social justice, activism, travel, art, music, zines, and more. I love project based learning because it allows students and teachers to connect (and discover) their passions through projects.
As English Language Learner coordinator here at HTHI, I'm passionate about making education accessible for all students and families. I'm also part of the CARPE network working with educators across the state to increase college access. I'm excited to learn and grow as part of the HTH family!




Combining her dual passions in exploration and education Sam moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, for a year, post college to work as an intern in the Child Development & Diversity program at the same school Sam studied abroad with in college.
Upon returning to the United States, Sam moved back to her native Utah and spent the following decade working in both private therapeutic and public school education in the realm of special education and support services. Although Sam enjoys working with all students with unique learning profiles and needs, she has especially enjoyed working with ASD students.
The next adventure in Sam’s life brings her to California for the second time, where she is excited to join the Inclusion Department at HTHI and work at school dedicated to a PBL learning method.
In her spare time Sam enjoys spending time with her dog, Nora, and swimming in the ocean. Her goal is to combine those two pastimes and teach Nora to go Stand Up Paddle boarding with her. Otherwise Sam can be seen pursuing her hobbies of hiking and biking around San Diego, and reading and perfecting the perfect gourmet grilled cheese sandwich.

I was extremely involved while I was at PLNU. I worked in my school's study abroad office, volunteered for Ministry with Mexico, played both intramural and club soccer, was a TA for the biology department, was a spiritual mentor for sophomore girls, ran a discipleship group and ran half-and full marathons.
I started at High Tech High International as an academic two years ago and absolutely fell in love with project-based learning and working with the creative, compassionate students. When I'm not at work, I can be found reading a book, rock climbing, playing ultimate frisbee, or researching and planning international travel adventures.