STAFF & FACULTY DIRECTORY PROFILE
Fran Warmerdam
Job Title:
Associate Principal of Academics
Department:
Administration
Email:
Phone: (510) 577-9100
ext.
601
Started at O'Dowd:
1985
Degrees:
SCU - 1977 - English and German, B.A. CSU Hayward - 1985 MS Clinical Counseling MFT license and therapist
Originally from:
Melbourne, Australia
Why I Teach:
I teach, as a counselor, because the partnership between student and counselor and family is life-affirming. As a former teenage, I remember how important certain teachers and mentors were to help me navigate school and teen age situations then. I hope to be a thoughtful advocate for my students in my work with them and their families.
Most powerful teaching technique:
Listening! then....being thoughtful with what comes out of my mouth in response!
Why are the subjects you teach important?:
My teaching happens in a different context - counseling "my" charges - Who wouldn't love working with students?!?! I'm constantly amazed at their insight, and how a teen grows. I love being a partner in that process, during tough times, during celebratory times!
Favorite quotes:
"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. And try to love the questions themselves." Rainer Maria Rilke<br /><br />and...<br /><br />"What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion for yourself and those around you. That kind of beauty enflames the heart and enchants the soul....Get to the deeper business of being BEAUTIFUL inside!" Lupita Nyong'o
Favorite trivia:
"Facetious" is one of the few words in the English language in which all the vowels appear in order.
Recommended visual media:
Midnight in Paris, The Quiet Man
Recommended reads:
Book 3 of Game of Thrones Series, Middlesex, by Jeffery Eugenides
Hobbies or outside interests:
Reading, "family" dinners with friends, food, movies, and traveling to visit family in Europe.