Erica Reynolds is starting a year of new beginnings and adventures. Not only is she a new teacher to Mayo High School, but she is also new to Rochester. Mrs. Reynolds is the new speech pathologist at Mayo, starting her first year of teaching since graduating. She moved to Rochester from Montana with her husband and dog.
She grew up in a little town called Carpentersville, Illinois, which is northwest of Chicago. She received her undergraduate degree from Northern Michigan University, then applied to the University of Montana for Graduate school. After graduating from the University of Montana in the spring and earning her master’s degree, she and her husband celebrated the fact that he was accepted into the PhD program at the Mayo Clinic. Soon after, they were packed and ready to make the move.
She likes to spend time playing with her miniature border collie that they rescued when he was eight years old. She and her husband also like to bring him along on walks and hikes. Mrs. Reynolds and her husband like to go to the movie theater once a week to see the latest trending movies. Her favorite movie at the moment is Dark Tower, which is based on the novel by Stephen King. By far though, her favorite genre is super hero movies. If she isn’t out walking their dog or watching movies, she is at home relaxing with her husband and dog watching Netflix.
Mrs. Reynolds never thought she would be a teacher while she was growing up. When trying to decide what she wanted to pursue as a job, the idea of being a nurse came and went; then she thought “maybe a photographer, but I always knew I wanted to help people, and being a speech pathologist really gives me the opportunity to do that.” A speech pathologist branches into many different opportunities to help people. For example, she could work in a nursing home or at the Mayo Clinic. However, she really enjoys working in the school system. She hopes to be able to make an impact on her students’ lives and make learning fun. She notes that this is true, “especially for kids in special ed, that even though they have been doing this for years, it’s for a reason, and it can make coming to school fun and exciting.”
Mrs. Reynold’s first impression of Mayo was how welcoming everyone was, especially the students and staff. “Being new, a new teacher, and all together in a new place, [everyone here] is so welcoming; the staff are so friendly. I find it really encouraging to be supported by the staff here.” She says that the students are awesome and engaged in learning. She most looks forward to really getting to know her students better and being able to build relationships with them, the staff, and working together as a team. “It brings me joy to work with students and not have to just sit and do paperwork,” said Mrs. Reynolds.
On a daily basis she will come into work and respond to a few emails, work with nonverbal students, programming their devices with words they will be using in class for the week, have a few meetings, talk to teachers about students and the work they are doing, and see students either individually or in small groups to work on speech and language.

Mrs. Reynolds knew she wanted to become a speech pathologist, because she knew that it was a great way to be able to help people, but she also knew how speech therapy was able to help her younger brother communicate, and she just knew it would be a great fit for her. “Having the exposure through my brother, I just wanted to have the impact on someone’s life, like his speech therapist had for him, so it just resonated with me.”
If you happen to see Mrs. Reynolds at the movie theaters or walking her dog, make sure to say “hi” and welcome her not only to Mayo High School, but also Rochester. If you ever find yourself needing a movie suggestion, or you have a movie you think someone has to see, visit Mrs. Reynolds in room 2218 A.