What was an interesting previous job before teaching? 

Not really “before” teaching, but I worked a number of summers taking pictures for a newspaper in Western New York.  I think it was 2010-2013 or so.

What was it like? 

It was fun – my job was to take photos of lectures, concerts, and pretty stuff around the area.

Do you have any memorable stories to tell about it?

Two stories: (1) I was assigned to cover a biologist who was studying bats.  She had a huge family filled with little kids who just ran everywhere, so while I was trying to figure out how to take bat pictures in the dark Iwas also trying to wrangle her little kids and keep them from wandering too far off.  (2) I was assigned to take pictures of a lecture given by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was on the supreme court at the time.  One of the pictures I had to take was from behind as she was talking, so it showed the whole audience and her.  It’s the only time I’ve ever had to ask the Secret Service for permission to do something and we ended up not being able to use many of the photos because we didn’t realize that she was standing on a little step stool because she was too short to use the lectern otherwise.   

How was that job different from teaching?

I got to be outside a whole bunch and was largely free to do my own thing – there were deadlines, but no curriculum to cover.  I also had to use Apple Computers, which – despite what everyone claims – will crash repeatedly if you don’t know what you’re doing.