Meet the New Faculty: Ami Robinson

Ami Robinson is a notable addition to the Thacher community this academic year, where she instructs field biology and IS2 classes. In addition to teaching, she is also a sophomore advisor, a passionate rock climbing coach, and a firm believer in having dessert every night. Robinson first heard of Thacher from her previous job and had known about Thacher for quite a long time. When the field biology position opened up last year just when she was looking for a new job, Robinson jumped at the opportunity hoping to kindle excitement for science and help students enjoy learning just for the sake of it. Currently, Robinson resides in Middle School with her husband Alec, her six-month-old daughter Jane, and her two dogs. 

Robinson grew up and attended public school in New Jersey. She fondly recalls her high school experience and described her school as “a cool public school.” Although her experience was different from that of students at Thacher, she recounted some similarities such as the offering of unique elective courses. A particular memory is her environmental science class, which not only sparked her interest in marine biology but also introduced her to an inspiring teacher, Mr. Toft, who she vividly describes as a real-life version of Mrs. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus.” Mr. Toft would often bring his dogs to school, and he had an iguana lab-pet. Outside of her classes, Robinson played soccer and swam competitively which is why she continues to swim in her free time. During her senior year, Robinson also went to the Island School in the Bahamas for the second semester which influenced her decision to later work there.

Robinson graduated with a degree in marine biology. After college, she had an opportunity to study in Mexico at a research station where she stayed to work at her first job as a marine biologist. During her work in Mexico, which was mostly researching, collecting, and analyzing data, Robinson worked with a wide variety of animals, ranging from the sixteen-legged Californian sunstars to sharks and crabs. Following her interest in marine biology, she later moved to the Bahamas to work as the director of the gap year program at the Island Schools. It was during her five-year stay when she first heard about Thacher from her colleagues.

In 2019, Robinson moved back to California and transitioned into teaching field biology. Having taught in various high schools prior to her arrival at Thacher, she really enjoys her work as a teacher and hopes to get students excited about the real-life applications of science and field biology.

In addition to her love for the sciences, Robinson is a rock climbing coach and a passionate climber. She loves that rock climbing is both an individual sport and a team sport. When someone is climbing, it may appear to be an individual sport as they rely on their own strength and skills, but the climber is also dependent on the teammate who is belaying. In this scenario, the climber is pushing themselves towards an individually set goal, yet they are in a team setting with everyone constantly cheering each other on and forming positive competitions. In this uplifting atmosphere, Robinson enjoys helping students reach their full potential, especially those who have never climbed before. It brings her a lot of joy to witness the growth of students in the program.

When not teaching and climbing, Robinson also enjoys cooking and baking in her kitchen. Although she cooks all sorts of dishes, she particularly likes those with a lot of fresh vegetables.

Robinson finds it very convenient to have the town of Ojai nearby because she can have access to lots of shops and different stores. Though Ojai is considered a small town, it is bigger than most of the places where Robinson and her family have lived. She previously lived in more rural places like Joshua Tree, and small towns in Oregon. She has quickly settled into her new surroundings, even noting that Ojai Rotie is her favorite restaurant. Overall, Robinson is quickly making her mark here at Thacher.