Whether it is running trails around Belmont Hill, teaching Environmental Science, or coaching sports, Ms. Potter brings a love of the environment and of competing to BH. This year, Ms. Potter joins BH as a one-year teaching fellow. She has hit the ground running as a Form III Environmental Science teacher, a soccer coach, and a member of the campus residential community.
Ms. Potter is not unfamiliar with New England Prep Schools, having attended Phillips Exeter herself. After graduating from Exeter, she attended Middlebury, where she earned a BA in Earth and Climate Sciences and Environmental Studies in Winter 2025.
For much of her life, athletics have been a constant. While at Exeter, she played Varsity Soccer and Hockey for four years, calling it the “best part of [her] days” there. Unfortunately, her final spring season was cut short due to COVID, a disappointment she still remembers. Moving on to Middlebury, COVID continued to affect her athletic career; however, Ms. Potter did not let that stop her. “It was a really hard transition,” Ms. Potter remarked, going from organized interscholastic leagues at Exeter to the small club sports scene at Middlebury. Drawn to the thrill of competing, she helped to build both the club soccer and club hockey teams, eventually becoming president of the club soccer team during her senior year. It was there that Ms. Potter got her first taste of coaching experience, helping not only to organize but also to run practices for the soccer team.
She is bringing her coaching expertise to BH sports for all three seasons: soccer in the Fall, hockey in the Winter, and sailing in the Spring. Her approach to coaching is influenced by both the coaches she has had and the lessons she has learned on her own. From her coaches, Ms. Potter has learned the importance of making every practice count, a habit she instilled in her soccer team at Middlebury and now in the teams she coaches at BH. She also draws her own analogy: playing sports is like being in a competitive classroom, where athletes have the support of both coaches and teammates, just as students have the support of their teachers and classmates. This connection is central to BH’s identity; in fact, it is the exact mindset of the teacher-coach model.
At Middlebury, one of the most formative experiences was going on five-hour field trips into nature during a geology class. After graduating from Middlebury, Ms. Potter spent most of her time leading outdoor education trips. She guided trips lasting from one to three weeks to areas across the country, including Alaska, Cape Cop, Utah, and Arizona. Ms. Potter noted that her favorite trip was “living under the stars without a tent in the American West.” On that same trip, she stayed with a host family on a Navajo reservation, a cultural exchange that had a great impact on her. These experiences in the outdoors have not only fostered her love for nature but also shaped her teaching philosophy: “the classroom is only a small part of where you learn.” This is especially why she loves teaching Environmental Science, as she can connect classroom material to the outside world.
Beyond the classroom and the athletics fields, Ms. Potter has many aspirations. She hopes to run in the New York City Marathon this November and help out with the Sustainability Club. Over the past August and into the school year, she has been training on the trails around BH, preparing for a race she will run with her cousins in memory of her late grandma. As she settles into life at BH, Ms. Potter offered one final thought: “Thank you for welcoming me into the community.”
