As a child, Joanna Latham would walk along a beach on Cape Cod, listening as her grandmother, a geologist, pointed out the rocks and pebbles. Those walks, and a childhood spent outdoors, may have planted the first seeds in a career exploring the natural world.
“She would stop to poke through the rocks on the seashore, and tell me the rock types and origins, and it was just something embedded in me,” Joanna says. “Even though I was not actively thinking about it, she had a strong influence. I’ve always loved nature and science and being outdoors, and I have a keen interest in the way the earth works, the processes that have created what we see all around us.”
After graduating from Northeastern University with a degree in geology and marine science, Joanna went to work on mapping the MetroWest Water Supply Tunnel, a project to replace an aging aqueduct supplying water to the Boston area. She spent two years on the infrastructure project, where she was frequently the only woman on the job, then decided to pursue her master’s degree at the University of Idaho’s School of Mines. Research brought her all over: Alaska, Mexico, Colorado, the Pacific Northwest and Greenland.
While in graduate school, Joanna was asked to be a teaching assistant. At that point, she hadn’t considered becoming a teacher. When she graduated, she worked in the gold mining industry in Nevada, followed by environmental consulting work in Seattle. Around 12 years ago, she and her husband decided to move back to New England, where she returned to Northeastern—this time to teach geology part time, while she continued to work as a consultant.
“I just loved it, absolutely loved it, and it started to dawn on me that teaching was something that didn’t feel like work,” Joanna says. “It took a while, but the light bulb finally went off, and I thought, why don’t I pursue this as a full-time, long-term career.”
Joanna teaches physics and chemistry, as well as some sections of values; she also advises the student Sustainability Board. Milton students are universally inquisitive and motivated in ways that make the School unique.
“The students are curious, they’re asking questions, they want to be involved,” she says. “It’s not just about getting good grades, which they aspire to do. They’re also motivated by the desire to learn, and it’s just remarkable to have all of that in a classroom at one time.” The students on the Sustainability Board have impressed Joanna with their initiative in organizing events and practicing what they preach.
“They’re really dedicated to the cause. I have to constantly remind myself that I’m working with high school students,” she says. “They are very adept at making decisions and they work cohesively as a group, but at the same time they welcome other people’s opinions and ideas, and they embrace that. They listen.”
Working with the Milton faculty has been special for Joanna because, she says, “I’ve been blown away by the passion that the teachers have for what they do. I’ve never worked in an environment quite like this in terms of the enthusiasm and the dedication that these teachers have.”