Two Westminster faculty members share highlights of their recent sabbatical experiences in the following articles.
Furthering Interests and Passions By Nancy Urner-Berry ’81, P’11, ’16 Mathematics teacher I saw my first bald eagle several years ago sitting at the top of a tall pine tree while leaving family-style lunch at Westminster, and I was mesmerized. When granted a sabbatical for the 2019-2020 school year, I knew I wanted to study raptors. A second focus for the year would be to train for a half-marathon, a distance I never thought I would consider running. Both of these areas of focus would enhance my investment in the academic life of the classroom and my athletic life as a coach. I kicked off my sabbatical by taking a graduate course at Wesleyan University with a professor whom I have long wanted to have as a teacher. The course was Biology of Birds, and it got me very excited not only to observe and identify raptors but also to learn more about shorebirds. My great-grandfather was a wellknown expert on shorebirds, and I wanted to be able to identify gulls and sandpipers. Through the summer, I studied ospreys, a type of raptor whose diet consists primarily of fish, that were
nesting near Barnegat Bay, N.J. I read several books and became well-versed in the conservation of migratory bird habitats. It was a good experience for me to be back in the classroom setting, on the other side of the desk, and I came away with a renewed appreciation for how much effort it takes to research and write a paper! At the end of the summer, my husband, Scott, and I traveled to Bread Loaf, Vt., to participate in a long weekend with the Middlebury Alumni College. Our course was titled Geologic Controls on Human History in the Champlain Valley. Following closely on the heels of that trip was a week spent in Bremen, Maine, at the Hog Island Audubon Camp. We participated in a program called “Migration and Monhegan.” I learned more about birding and experienced my first day participating in a hawkwatch. I valued observing others teach and found attributes in each instructor that would serve me in the classroom.
Above left, Nancy visiting New England Falconry in Woodstock, Vt., where she was able to handle a trained hawk, and, above right, looking for waterfowl outside of Bremen, Maine, on a day trip for the Hog Island Audubon Camp. 48
Westminster Bulletin
