Mrs. Trout grew up in East County, San Diego, and then attended the University of California, Irvine to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Structural Engineering. As a licensed Professional Engineer for the State of California, her work experience includes residential structural design and plan checking for the Laguna Beach Zoning Department. After nearly 10 years in the Engineering/Building industry, Mrs. Trout returned to San Diego and stumbled upon a teaching position with High Tech High. It is there that she discovered her true passion for teaching and earned her teaching credential. It is Mrs. Trout’s 14th year teaching and 11th year at a High Tech middle school (6 years at High Tech Middle Chula Vista, 3 years at a private school in Encinitas, and she is currently on her 5th year at High Tech Middle North County). As a teacher, her goals are to always find the fun and provoke authentic design thinking. Some of her favorite school projects involve programming microcontrollers to create interactive Halloween decorations, 3D printing LED night lights, and using SimCity to learn about city planning and waste management. Another passion of Mrs. Trout is being an active FIRST LEGO League robotics coach. At home in San Marcos, Mrs. Trout and her husband have a modern-day Brady Bunch with her two sons, his two daughters, and a potato-shaped dog named Arya. Some of her favorite things are spending time with her family and friends, traveling, eating delicious food, building with LEGOs, Jazzercise, walking Arya, singing karaoke, dancing, going to Disneyland, reading, and enjoying all of the amazing sights and activities the beautiful county of San Diego has to offer.