![Mandi Rivers]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1655838953/suffieldacademyorg/fp2ldbnacepiytgtapt6/20220621_RiversFacultySpotlightHP.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1655838953/suffieldacademyorg/fp2ldbnacepiytgtapt6/20220621_RiversFacultySpotlightHP.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1655838953/suffieldacademyorg/fp2ldbnacepiytgtapt6/20220621_RiversFacultySpotlightHP.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1655838953/suffieldacademyorg/fp2ldbnacepiytgtapt6/20220621_RiversFacultySpotlightHP.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1655838953/suffieldacademyorg/fp2ldbnacepiytgtapt6/20220621_RiversFacultySpotlightHP.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1655838953/suffieldacademyorg/fp2ldbnacepiytgtapt6/20220621_RiversFacultySpotlightHP.jpg","width":2200}])
Mandi is a native of South Windsor, Connecticut and holds both a Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Arts in Teaching from Quinnipiac and a Master of Arts from Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. Since joining the Suffield faculty in 2013, she has taught freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, as well as Beginning Literature.
Mandi coaches volleyball, is in charge of the international student passports, and lives on campus as a dorm associate. When not teaching, Mandi adores spending time with her golden retrievers, Radley and Murphy.
Where were you born?
Manchester, CT
What is the first thing you do every morning when you get to work?
I used to get to my classroom at 7:30 every day before the pandemic. When I got to my classroom, I would turn on some upbeat music, wash my boards, write out anything that I needed to for that day’s plans, clean up my desk, and straighten/clean the student desks. I am hoping to get back to that this coming school year!
What is something your Suffield Academy family might not know about you?
I lived on a farm for a short time when I was a kid! I had goats that I walked on a leash up and down the street and showed them at the Big E.
What is your favorite book?
“Favorite” is a hard one for an English teacher... My comfort books are the Harry Potter series. I know they are embroiled in some controversy right now, but that world is one I escape to when I need to get away.
What is the one word that you live by?
Growth
What is your favorite hobby?
Calligraphy and designing planners—I think they go hand in hand.
What is the most important life lesson for someone to learn?
That other people’s opinions are not as important as how you see yourself. You are the one you have to spend the rest of your life with. Invest in your own growth.
If you could have dinner with one person, alive or dead, who would you dine with?
Princess Diana
Who is your role model? Inspiration?
Mrs. Amy Pentz
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Back to Greece! I learned so much there and love the culture, food, and mythology. Second would be Belfast, Northern Ireland, specifically. The history there is wild, and people are not afraid to just talk about it—even your taxi driver will have something to tell you.
What has been the most interesting thing you have learned from a student?
This is a tough one. I learn from my students every day. The many cultures that students represent bring new things to the table all the time—in class, at lunch, chatting in the dorms. It is one of my favorite parts of teaching.