Tyler grew up in Virginia; he has a BS in business from Virginia Tech and a master’s in educational psychology from the University of Northern Colorado, a degree he completed while teaching full time at Aspen Country Day School. His first role here in 2013 was as an all-around substitute teacher and bus driver. This was, he says, “the perfect way to get to know all the grades, teachers, and subjects.” Following that one-year immersion in ACDS culture, Tyler has been teaching math and history in the Middle School and serving as an advisor.
Three essential items?
Music, absolutely, so some sort of music player. And a good book. My favorite book, which I have actually read over and over again, is Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Every time I read it, I discover something new. And a picture of my family.
Favorite place on campus?
I like being right in the center between the two ponds and just getting a 360-degree view of everything.
Three dream dinner guests? Who and where?
A historical figure that I admire is Robert F. Kennedy; he was really empathetic to those that were less fortunate in the United States, and I think he could have done a lot of good had he not been assassinated. He’s a pretty fancy guy, so I’m thinking like a nice steak dinner at a fancy restaurant.
Another person I’d like to have dinner with is my grandfather, who passed away last year. I think about him a lot. Just around the dinner table at home.
Then I think it’d be cool to find just a regular, ordinary person from the other side of the world — India or China, somewhere I have no connection with. Just to sit with them and listen about their life, maybe in their home.
How did you wind up in Colorado?
I knew I had to break out of the east coast mentality, so I googled “cool jobs out west” and was a camp counselor at Sanborn Western Camps. It was that summer in college that made me want to live in Colorado and also made me think about education as a career.
Favorite ACDS core value?
Community. It has been so important for me to feel connected to this local community and the valley here. I felt it from my first day at Country Day, literally just driving the bus around and meeting these local families. Now I love seeing my students on the ski hill, in the grocery store, or around down.
Favorite teacher? Least favorite?
Miss Hicks taught U.S. history when I was in Seventh Grade, and she was super enthusiastic. I could tell she really cared about her students and her class. And the opposite of that, my least favorite, was Mr. Peters, sixth grade math and science. He wasn’t very empathetic, and his lessons weren’t very memorable. But I can still remember exactly how Miss Hicks explained World War I.
Thanks to student interviewers Avery L., Cooper R., and Lukas M.