Jen Robertson began her life in a yurt that was hand made by her parents. Born in Chewelah, WA., Jen was born the third of four children. Her parents both came from middle class families in Ohio, and they wanted to do life just a bit differently. Their next home was a log cabin. When Jen was 8 years old, her artist father moved the family to Portland so that he could attend art school. As a child, Jen says that she was "loud and outdoorsy." Growing up in NE Portland, Jen graduated from Lincoln High School. Attending the Univ. of Montana was very appealing to Jen for so many reasons. Here she was not only able to attend a great school, but also live out her passion for biking, hiking and skiing in her time outside of the classroom. Graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing, she also minored in Spanish. Eventually moving back to Portland after graduation, Jen started at Portland State Univ. to get an advanced degree in Writing as this was a huge passion of hers. At this time she was also working part-time at New Seasons grocery. It was in the grocery line that Will Robertson first asked her on a date. At the time, she was already dating someone else, so she broke up with him and waited for Will to ask again. Will did not come back into the store again for nearly a month! Jen says that once they went on a first date, they BOTH KNEW they were definitely meant for each other! They eventually went on a trip to both Iceland and New York together and then dated another year before getting married at the Rose Garden. It was Will who encouraged Jen to get her Master's degree in Education instead of Writing. He was already teaching at Corbett and was passionate about his career choice and felt Jen would be a fantastic teacher. Her first year, Jen was a substitute teacher and librarian at Corbett. It was in 2009 that Jen was able to secure a job as a full-time middle school teacher at Corbett. Jen says she absolutely loves being a teacher for middle school aged kids, as she wants to give them a voice to be heard. She loves to share humor with them and thinks the Corbett Middle School is a magical place where they get to all grow and learn together. In 2009, son Theo was born and then in 2011 Owen was born. Both boys are currently attending school in Corbett, although the family lives in Portland and commutes each day. Next year Jen will take a year to move with her family to Thailand to teach 6th grade science! The family leaves July 20, 2015. They are very excited and are trying to spend as much time with extended family and friends before leaving for their journey.
