Mrs. Hurlbut says...

Academic Credentials:

BA American Studies, Colby College 1995, MA English, Middlebury College 2000, MFA Creative Writing, Solstice of Pine Manor College 2007-present

Responsibilities at Tabor: English Teacher, Advisor, JV Hockey Coach, JV Lacrosse Coach, Dormitory Parent, Hitchcock House

What student qualities make for the strongest Tabor experience? The student who is dedicated, open-minded, adventurous, and kind will have the strongest Tabor experience; in the classroom, on the fields, on the stage, or in the dormitories, these are the qualities that allow a student to make his or her voyage here at TA a positive and memorable one.

What is the favorite part of your job? I am hard-pressed to answer this question, as there are so many things that make teaching at Tabor great. Near the top of my list is the sense of community, which permeates everything from the classroom to the athletic teams, all-school meetings, and musical performances. If I had to choose just one thing, however, it would definitely be my interactions with the students. In all of the many spaces and places that we go about our days here at TA, it is the students at who energize me and have the potential to brighten even the longer days in February. When teaching Othello for the tenth time, it is often the students who make it new again. In my experience, Tabor students are grounded young men and women; I apologize for the cliché, but what you see is what you get with these kids. I noticed this sense of sincerity in them when I first began teaching here, and I continue to see it with each incoming class. Walking into a full classroom, passing a smiling face in the brick pathways, or listening to my children laugh as they play with the girls in the dorm, these are my favorite pieces of the mosaic that makes teaching here a wonderfully colorful job.

Advice for a new student? I would advise a new student to take advantage of as many of Tabor’s unique offerings as possible in his or her time here, from the sports to the arts and all of the opportunities that make one’s time at this school by the sea so incomparably unique: Try Tabor Boy as a fall activity, participate in MUN or the musical in the winter, try ice hockey, even if you hail from the Caribbean or Saudi Arabia (you wouldn’t be the first!) try lacrosse, take after school art or ceramics, go to the Caribbean on the Tabor Boy, take a Nautical Marine Science class. Be present during your time here at Tabor, because before too long you will, like many of my advisees who have graduated, be off at college recalling your Tabor days with nostalgia’s heavy weight on your shoulder. My advice for a new student? Seize the opportunities and seize the moment at the school by the sea.