It was love at first sight for spouses
Mitra Karimian and Stefan Shapiro: after their first visit to White Mountains
they were head over heels for New Hampshire’s North Country.
“We really started to fall in love
with the area,” Shapiro says of the couple’s early trips to the Whites.
After spending part of a summer volunteering with the
Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and Appalachian Trail Conservancy in 2011,
Karimian and Shapiro returned to their home state of Maryland. But they both knew
it was only a matter of time before they would return to New England.
“As soon as we got back we thought,
‘how can we plot to move to New Hampshire?’” Karimian says with a laugh.
The couple successfully carried out
this plot, relocating to New Hampshire for positions at Camp Dodge and the
Highlands Center. In the years since, Karimian and Shapiro have held several leadership
positions with the AMC, and developed a deep connection to the local community.
Through their work at the AMC the
couple discovered another passion: teaching. Over the past year Karimian has
been pursuing a master’s degree in education (M.Ed.) through the University of
New Hampshire’s Teacher Residency for Rural Education (UNH-TRRE) program.
The program, which prepares math
and science teachers to work in rural New Hampshire schools, has partnered with
districts and community organizations across the North Country and Lakes region
to bring a graduate teacher preparation program to prospective teachers in
these regions.
For Karimian, the program provided
the perfect opportunity to bring together her love of science and the outdoors
with a growing interest in teaching. Inspired by her work in the AMC’s Mountain
Classroom, Karimian became interested in the possibility of a longer- term
teaching position.
“I just thought to myself ‘Imagine
what it would be like to be with [students] for a full year!’ That’s what sort
of attracted me to traditional teaching, so that I could be into the classroom to
build those community bonds.”
As a UNH-TRRE teaching resident
Karimian had the chance to do just that. The program requires enrolled
students, known as teaching residents, to complete a full year residency
alongside a mentor teacher. During the 2018-2019 school year, Karimian worked in the
Lisbon Regional School while also taking graduate-level courses in education.
She plans to graduate in the summer of 2019 and hopes to find a position
teaching middle school science in the Bethlehem area.
Many rural New Hampshire schools
face teacher shortages, particularly in the areas of math and science. UNH-TRRE
aims to help schools fill these vacancies by preparing high quality teachers
who will stay in New Hampshire long-term. The program, which is funded by the
U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership Grant, offers
individuals the chance to earn their M.Ed. and teacher certification in
15-months, with financial support in the form of a stipend and discounted
tuition. In exchange, UNH-TRRE graduates commit to teaching in a rural,
high-need New Hampshire school for a minimum of three years after completing
the program.
Shapiro initially planned to apply
to UNH-TRRE last year, but held off due to a promising work opportunity. He
instead encouraged Karimian to apply and has been amazed at the impact the
program has had on her.
“She was in [UNH-TRRE], and I’m
like wow I really need to be in this program!” says Shapiro, who recently began the
program in May with the 2019-2020 cohort. “I’ve just been watching her and it’s
totally changed her life, going from guiding and being in the field three or
four days a week to being able to come home and talk about the community she’s
built at Lisbon.”
This summer Shapiro will begin his
graduate coursework while interning for a community-based organization. UNH-TRRE
teaching residents spend their first summer connecting with the communities in
which they will teach and getting to know families in an out-of-school context.
The combination of community engagement and both professional and financial
support from UNH was what first drew Shapiro to the program.
“I didn’t think I’d get an
opportunity like the TRRE program if I let it pass by,” he explains. In the
fall, Shapiro will begin his elementary teaching residency.
Working in classrooms has provided
the couple the chance to connect their work with the AMC to local schools.
Karimian has planned events with the Mountain Classroom, as well as a
planetarium show at Lisbon Regional School. In addition, she hopes to connect
some of her students with opportunities to volunteer on trails in the area. Likewise,
Shapiro hopes to make connections between the classroom and the natural
learning opportunities the North Country provides.
“I want to try to bring my
knowledge of AMC and opportunities that AMC has into the community.”
Although no longer working formally
for the AMC, both Karimian and Shapiro retain close ties with their former
employer. Shapiro is a volunteer naturalist and the couple also helps with
trail maintenance.
For the once transient couple, life in New Hampshire has meant more than an opportunity to work and play in a beautiful place; it has become home. The couple lives in a tiny house in Bethlehem with their three retired sled dogs, Luca, Stiffler, and Forman, and eight chickens. In addition, they are working on designing their future home.
When asked what the future holds,
both Karimian and Shapiro say they hope to be in full time teaching positions
within the next two years and settled into their future home. They have plans
to grow roots, including thinking about a family, planting fruit trees, and
maybe some blueberry bushes.
“Where will be five years from
now?” Shapiro wonders out loud.
Karimian’s answer is quick, sure,
and met with an enthusiastic nod from her husband. “Here.”
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