Ms. Ring
Hi! My name is Ms. Ring. I grew up and graduated from high school in Crookston, MN. I graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD four years later with a major in Biology and a minor in Psychology. After college, I moved out to Boulder, CO where I worked as a youth director for 2 1/2 years and spent all of my free time in the mountains. After taking a year to travel around the U.S. and Europe, I moved up to Kotzebue, AK, a small Eskimo village north of the Arctic Circle. While there, I received my teaching certificate from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and taught high school biology. In my free time, I coached cross-country and girls' basketball and trained for a marathon...on treadmills! After 2 1/2 years in AK, I moved back to the lower 48 and spent a year teaching chemistry in Lincoln, NE. I knew that I eventually wanted to come back to Minnesota to be near my family, so when the opportunity to teach in Litchfield presented itself, I happily moved back to my home state. This is my 8th year in Litchfield and my 8th year teaching Bio II and College Bio.
Teaching
Since moving to Litchfield, I received my Masters Degree in Education from St. Mary's University. I was also chosen as the Minnesota Science Teacher of the Year in 2011 by the Minnesota Science Teachers' Association and Medtronic Corporation. This past summer, I was chosen as one of 50 educators from across the country to attend the Siemen's STEM Institute as a STEM Fellow at the Discovery Communications Cetner in Washington DC. During the week I not only networked with a group of amazing teachers, but had the opportunity to meet national leaders and policy makers in the field of STEM education.
Coaching
In addition to teaching in Litch, I am also the assistant girls' swimming coach. This year, there are over 35 girls on the team and practices are divided between the Varsity who practice in the morning and the JV who practice after school. In the past, I've also coached Basketball, Cross Country, Softball and NYO (Native Youth Olympics). This is a picture of the Litch coaches dressed up for Halloween this year at the Conference swim meet in Hutch...get it?
Free Time
I love the outdoors. While I was in college, I spent my summers working at a camp on Flathead Lake in Montana where I was trained in backcountry backpacking, canoeing, white-water rafting and rock climbing. I have guided all four and still spend the majority of my summers in Montana doing a little of each. This is a picture at the top of Mt. Oberlin in Glacier National Park
Shiloh
I don't have a family of my own, but I do have a dog named Shiloh. He's my buddy and goes just about everywhere I do! His claim to fame? He'll herd just about any group of animals you put in front of him...including swimmers! (You can ask some girls on the swim team about that...)