Memry Roessler

Raising the Bar for Everyone Around Her

Memry Roessler wasn’t entirely comfortable with all the attention an interview might focus on her.

She uses her considerable energy to play a dizzying number of roles: teacher of four sections of English (to juniors and seniors), Upper School multicultural resource, leader of the administrative SEED group, faculty advisor for the multicultural club, and JV girls tennis coach. Where does she get the stamina? “Sometimes I do need to remember to stop and breathe," she laughs, “but I think it comes from my experience of having four children so close together. You really learn how to get things done!"

Her department head, Frank Eustis, says, “Memry does so many things well, I worry that we overburden her. She’s an amazing source of advice and expertise – and not just in multicultural awareness. She’s such a great, innovative teacher who constantly pushes herself and all of us to find new ways to present material and assess students."

Memry and her husband Richard’s four aforementioned children are Derek, Jared, Courteney and Jordan.

Born in East Los Angeles of Mexican and Papago Indian ancestry, Memry came to Minnesota after an interim stop in Whitefish, Montana. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. Before coming to Breck, she worked for the Minnesota Department of Children, Family and Learning (developers of the “Profile of Learning"graduation standards for public schools).

As might be expected, reading is one of Memry’s favorite pursuits, as is landscape photography and travel (primarily in Mexico). All these interests came together in a very special experience she shared with son one summer. The pair camped in rural Mexican border towns as they traced and photographed the journey chronicled in the novel All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy. The trip was funded in part by a grant from Breck’s faculty advisory council.

Besides McCarthy, Memry especially enjoys reading novels by Louise Erdrich, Toni Morrison, Isabel Allende, M. Scott Momaday and Margaret Atwood, along with many of the classics she’s savored since her own days as a student. “We just can’t read enough," she says. “There’s always so many more books I’m anxious to get to."

Memry says she’s “always wanted to be a teacher" because she loves kids. “I’m so interested in how they think, and in helping them make meaning in their complex lives." She observes that Breck’s physical surroundings are helpful for students and teachers alike. “Our lives are so often off-center," she says, “but this place can make me peaceful and calm. The chapel has an amazing effect."

Whatever she does to refuel—whether it’s pausing to reflect in the chapel, taking a deep breath, or guiding students and colleagues to discuss literature—Memry’s is a quietly powerful presence at Breck.