faculty profile

FACULTY PROFILE ms. whitty

Ms. Whitty is an English teacher AND a St. Mary’s alumna. This is her fourteenth year of teaching and seventh at SMA. When not in the classroom, you can often find her high in the sky in a hot air balloon or gathering flowers for a bouquet or floral crown. You can see her beautiful creations @wild.thyme.flowers.

What do you love about teaching English? Teaching merges three things I love deeply: learning, literature, and humanity. I’ve always loved working with young adults because they bring energy, fresh perspectives and a willingness to grow. Sharing my love of learning and literature with young people and experiencing the content through their eyes is incredibly fulfilling and life-giving for me!

What’s the best part of teaching? My students. They inspire and motivate me every single day. They are kind and powerful and hardworking. I am so lucky to spend my days among the incredible young women of St. Mary’s!

That’s an impossible question to answer! I have many, many favorite books. I’ll give you a few of my favorite authors: Toni Morrison, Wallace Stegner, Virginia Woolf, Shani Mootoo.

What inspires you to teach at SMA?

SMA is my home away from home. My years at SMA made me into the confident and passionate individual I am today. I know that SMA also instilled strength and determination in me, as well as a love of learning for learning’s sake. I am deeply passionate about educating young women and elevating their voices. For me, there is no better place to make a difference in the world.

How do you spend your time outside of school?

I am an avid reader, skier, runner, camper, and yogi. During the summer months, my husband and I operate our hot air balloon company. I also have a florist business and create wedding flowers. Both are very different from teaching but are so much fun! Above all, I love spending time with my family!

What’s something you want every student who comes through your classroom to know?

I want my students to know that they are not just a student to me. I want them to feel happy and safe in my classroom. As such, their whole self matters to me. I want them to feel supported intellectually, but I equally want them to feel mentally and emotionally supported. I also want them to know that writing takes time and practice. They should be patient with themselves and work hard. The reward will come!

Craft Corner

Ms. Whitty loves to create with flowers and many St. Mary’s students have joined her in making floral crowns. Now you can, too.

Start with plenty of flowers that have a long stem!

Cut a small hole through the middle of the stem, without breaking it in half.

Place the flower in the hole you just made

Repeat this process on each stem until You reach a good length

“Close” your crown by Putting a hole in The stem around the first flower on the other end. TA DA!