Erin Tiernan

Hello! My name is Erin Tiernan and I am very excited to be part of the crew at Renaissance as a Middle School Social Studies teacher! 

 

I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri and spent my childhood exploring everything that the Midwest had to offer. I loved spending time outdoors and, in between school and a variety of sports, I spent a lot of time on various vacations with my family. While in high school I was lucky enough to get to travel around the entire western United States (and even visited Canada) with my parents on two epic road trips. It was at that time that I truly fell in love with the west, particularly Colorado. I knew then that I wanted to end up living close to the mountains. 

 

After graduating from high school, I moved to Colorado to pursue a bachelor’s degree from Regis University in Denver. During my studies I participated in a study abroad program and lived in Dublin, Ireland, attending Trinity College and studying English and Philosophy. While abroad I was able to explore all of Ireland and even make a few trips to England, Italy, and Spain. After achieving my B.A. in English and Philosophy from Regis, I decided I wanted to see what the east had to offer and so I traveled to the east coast and lived in New Hampshire for two years while studying for a master’s degree in Cultural Studies at Dartmouth College. While there I spent a lot of my free time exploring the wilderness and cities of the east coast. After this experience, I came back to Colorado and eventually went on to pursue a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Regis (again) after the birth of my daughter. 

 

I have taught at both the fifth grade and the middle school level and have loved teaching and learning with that age range of students. I believe education should be fueled by curiosity and a sense of adventure and that, when students are provided with authentic and immersive learning experiences, they are able to grow academically, personally, and in community. I am so looking forward to working with our crew and with our students to create opportunities and possibilities for the students to collaborate and continue to grow in their empathy, creativity, resilience, strength, curiosity, and excitement about the world around them. 

 

In my spare time I love doing anything outdoors: hiking (particularly forested trails and trails with streams and lakes), biking (my Dad and I have biked across Missouri twice and I still love finding time to bike around Colorado), skiing (Breckenridge and Keystone are my favorites!), kayaking, camping, fishing, and rock climbing. I especially love going on adventures with my five-year-old, Brooke, and my loving partner, Patrick! I also love reading with a cup of coffee or tea and my two cats nearby (a three-legged, orange cat named Sunny and a somewhat cross-eyed, large black and grey cat named Cooper), watching anime shows and playing video games, discovering new coffee shops, exploring museums, writing, and working on art.