Walking in on her first day of school at Cathedral, new science teacher Mrs. Kendell Middlebrook was greeted with a multitude of excited, friendly faces. This experience differs from Mrs. Middle-brook’s past high school experience, particularly because while attending high school in Arizona, Mrs. Middlebrook was a part of the Future Farmers of America – and spent many hours cleaning out pig pens. She raised, cared for, and sold 270-pound hogs at her local county fair for five years.

Mrs. Middlebrook’s love for nature and animals led her to North-ern Arizona University where she graduated with a degree in Zo-ology. While in college, she had planned on working for the U.S Fish and Game where she would assist regulating fishing during certain seasons. However, during college, she was led onto a dif-ferent path. The gateway to her teaching career was the joy that she encountered while tutoring in college. “I just found that I really enjoyed it,” she said.

This year, Mrs. Middlebrook is teaching Anatomy and Physiology to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. She has been teaching for about six years now. She taught at public school for one year in Arizona, and then made the transition to private school when she moved over to Mater Dei High School three years ago. “Once I moved to teaching private school, I didn’t want to go back to public,” she said.

Apart from teaching, Mrs. Middlebrook is a part of the Center for Innovation.

After graduating college, Mrs. Middlebrook and her husband moved to San Diego with their one-and-a-half year old son Deklan and their three dogs, Obie, Luna, and Pipa. Now, she enjoys eat-ing Blue Ribbon Pizza with her family at their home on the beach. Mrs. Middlebrook hopes to have more kids in the future, but doesn’t plan on raising any more pigs.