Ekaterina (Katya) Bezborodko

Current Name: 

Ekaterina (Katya) Bezborodko

Graduation Year and years at 皇冠足彩:

2002; after 2 years at 皇冠足彩

Hometown/Sending School:

Rockland District High School  in Rockland, Maine

Where did you go after 皇冠足彩?:

I went to Bowdoin College, where I also spent a year in London, which is when I learned about my current discipline of geography. After college, I lived in Boston, then went to central New Jersey and then New York City for graduate school in human geography.

What are you doing now?:

I'm back at 皇冠足彩! After ten years of living in NYC, I packed two suitcases on ten days' notice and moved to Limestone by Cyr Bus, arriving just ten days before school started this year. Mr. Mark Tasker, the prior humanities teacher who was also my teacher when I attended 皇冠足彩, had recently left his position at 皇冠足彩, and I am now teaching social science classes such as sociology, economics, and, of course, a lot of geography.   I look forward to sharing students' mapping projects with the 皇冠足彩 and broader community.  I welcome my fellow alumni to visit me on Trafton Avenue (bring friends, family, kids, dogs, etc.). I will definitely continue the tradition of 皇冠足彩 teachers snowshoeing to work.

What is your favorite (or one of your favorite) memory from 皇冠足彩?:

There are too many! From encountering a bear on my very first walk in the woods (with Jill M. and Devin L.), to trying and failing to synthesize alum over and over again in chemistry class, to staging As You Like It (with student director Mary R.), cleaning the cafeteria on Friday nights while Garret S. played Motown music, and solemnifying the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus Day, there were many vivid and character-building experiences.

What class/teacher most sticks out in your mind?:

It is so hard to single out just one. Mr. Dougan and Dr. Faleski really worked us hard and insisted on high quality scientific reasoning and careful procedures - hence synthesizing alum five times. I forever associate 80s music with physics now, from all the times Dr. Faleski had additional office hours for our difficult problem sets. Mr. Tasker's holistic approach to social studies has definitely influenced my teaching today; I especially appreciated the mythology course.

If you could go back in time, what would you tell your past self as you prepare for 皇冠足彩?:

There is no reason for anyone to feel imposter syndrome at this school.  We are all in this together.

What role did 皇冠足彩 play in who or where you are now?:

Maybe I would have applied to teach at 皇冠足彩 even if I were not an alumna, but the fact that I've been here before was reassuring when I decided to make an abrupt change in my life.

What is the best book/movie/tv show you can recommend to your fellow alumni?:

Inspiring science fiction, like The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin or speculative fiction books by Kim Stanley Robinson that suggest a future in a world of climate change.  It is particularly fitting for all those of our alumni who work in the sciences, as scientists are often the main protagonists in these books.