While Blake students may hang out and relax in order to recuperate between school years, Blake faculty seem to do the opposite.

This past summer, Anne Graybeal started her Doctorate in Education program at the University of Pennsylvania. Sean “D.J” Hickey traveled to Washington D.C. and also traveled to North Carolina by car.

Lizz Buchanan had an extraordinary summer with trips to Las Vegas and Washington D.C. During her stay in the capitol she met up for a day with Hickey. The pair went to Maryland where they climbed Sugarloaf Mountain (see selfie below) and dined at Hickey’s parents’ restaurant, The Orchard. Buchanan’s summer did not end there, she and Blake librarian Kali Olson attended a conference in Las Vegas alongside thousands of other librarians. Staying true to her librarian identity, Buchanan was excited to tell the Spectrum that “I brought back more than 90 lbs. of books!” The fun in Vegas did not end there, Buchanan and Olson also rescued a tortoise and posed with wax figures at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Olson didn’t fail to add that they “stalked a famous balloon artist.”

While it may seem impossible to fit that much fun into one summer break, Buchanan somehow managed to also go on a puffin tour. Though it seems as if Buchanan’s summer was all play and no work, she did get recognized for her outstanding skills as a teacher as she was selected by the National Association of Independent Schools for the 2014-2015 Teacher of the Future award. Adding to her impressively national summer,  Buchanan attended a 3 day workshop in Arlington, Virginia with the other 34 recipients of the award.