About Me

About Roxy Yanko

Hello everyone!  My name is Roxy, and I teach 8th grade science in Monrovia.  I used to be a professional student, and in the end I finally received my degree in Natural Science - Geology from CalState LA.  I have been teaching for several years, and am ready to go back to school to work on my masters.  I'm very excited to be here and to start the EMM program at Cal Poly.

I got married in 2011, and finally, through the miracle of IVF, we are expecting our first child in November!  It's an exciting time in my life right now with reaching my teaching stride and potentially screwing the whole thing up by becoming a parent!  My hobbies have obviously taken the back burner in recent years, since becoming consumed with strengthening my craft of teaching 13 year olds chemistry and physics.  However, I used to enjoy photography, snowboarding, hiking, and relaxing on the lake or at the pub with friends.  (In fact, it was this "relaxing" at the pub that led me to meet my wonderful and supportive husband!)  I live in Monrovia with my husband and two cats.  Click here for a video of our cat, Creepy, catching a bug.

I consider myself pretty computer savvy, but that is mostly from the user end.  I have dabbled in graphic design for personal use with Pixelmator, and back in the 90's I learned basic HTML.  My students learned CSS over the summer and I learned a bit by watching them!  

I decided to pursue a Masters in Educational Multimedia because I had enough philosophy and theory coursework while earning my credential and then completing BTSA.  The way I feel right now, you could not pay me to take another "education" course.  I am much more of a 'hands on learning' type, and I feel that I can learn applicable skills with this program.  This degree may potentially open up a few more doors for me in my current place of work - who knows?

Here is a picture of me in my favorite environment - the snow!  Although I was born and raised in Southern California, I believe I was made for a different kind of place.  I hope that we have a better snow year ahead of us than recent years, and I am anxiously awaiting another "El Niño" year.

I look forward to meeting the rest of you, my peers in the EMM program.  I hope that we all have a great time learning from the coursework and from each other.  Here's to a great start everyone!