In 1994, sweet baby Lauren was born at a hospital in Chicago on a hot summer night. Her younger self grew up loving birds, but also the thought of teaching science. She is now welcomed by the lower classmen middle-schoolers in Cannon Falls Middle School. High School and Middle School students might feel more comfortable in the halls by knowing a little more about her, and her past.
Ms. Emerson has a unique background compared to the other teachers in Cannon Falls. She was raised in Illinois with her mom, dad, and older brother. She was a normal kid that played sports and did lots of activities. She played volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, and track, while also doing the marching band. After working really hard in High School, she started college at the University of Illinois, where she got her Bachelor of Science. She became an ornithology (bird) scientist in the Dominican Republic and Panama. She then chose that it wasn’t the right job for her, so she went back to school at the College of William and Mary, and got her masters degree. She taught science in St. Paul for five years before she chose to teach at Cannon Falls.
She now lives in Eagan with her partner Jack, and dog Poptart. Her Mom and Dad still live in Illinois, while her brother lives in Canada. Somehow she makes time outside of school to do the extraordinary activities she loves. One of those hobbies are teaching and doing color guard in Colorado every weekend. Color guard is a group of both genders that put on a performance with flags and a big smile to show their crowd. Even though the weekends are full, she still loves to hang out with (and spoil) her dog Poptart.
Right away she knew for sure she wanted to be a science or math teacher, “I don’t really like History or English,” said Ms. Emerson with a smirk on her face. She currently teaches two sixth grade science classes and three seventh grade math classes. She loves to do experiments with her sixth graders, and always loves to chat with her seventh graders to catch up with the crazy middle school drama. Arianna Rodriguez, a seventh grader added, “Ms. Emerson always will talk about what’s on my mind in our spare time, and always lets me and my friend Avery go to the printer, then later will reward us with Jolly Ranchers.” Even though she seems like a chill teacher, some people have a different approach to Ms. Emerson because they don’t meet her teaching standards. Mr. Hogenson gave her the option to email the names of the football guys that misbehave in class, then they will later have to run laps from their choices.
Ms. Emerson, now welcomed by her students, also feels comfortable with making her room “homie” with some fairy lights that a lot of students could agree are cool. Even though this is her first year, she is liked just as much as the teachers that have been here longer. Her hope is to stay happy throughout the year, and keep her students interested.
