By Amanda Ojeda and Ayesha Shaikh
Mrs. Kramer is the ever so lovable AP Biology and Anatomy teacher at East Williamsville High School. While juggling her job at East with running a photography company, Mrs. Kramer never fails to put a smile across the student’s face with her witty jokes, and interactive labs. Here is the exclusive interview we got with her in which she gives us the secret to how she manages all of her passions from teaching, to baking, to photography, and more.
How would you describe your teaching philosophy?
When designing her lesson plans she “likes to engage all the students and interact with them. Every lesson is designed to reach a different kind of learner. I make sure to include videos, activities, notes, and group work, so that the lesson would prove helpful to all my students, not just a few of them.” Students of Mrs. Kramer can attest to her diverse strategies during lessons. From hands-on labs that involve working with crickets or worms, to groups mapping out the Krebs Cycle on the desks with dry erase markers.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
She followed the question with hardworking, funny, and loving life. She certainly does bring this joie de vivre during class time, presenting real life examples of the content through her adept story telling skills. Of course, it is only fitting that hardworking is up there as well. Not only does she juggle teaching at East with her photography company and a food blog, she also runs Yearbook Club and Service Club.
What is it like running your own photograph company?
“I started my company in 2015, around seven years ago. It is definitely crazy, and I am proud of how much it has grown since then… It’s called Simple Moments!” Regarding how that has affected her work schedule; she works every day during August, September, and October. She also loves to take July as a break and mainly spends it traveling.
Kramer loves doing photography and interacting with clients, many of which are getting their senior pictures taken. Her experiences as a teacher and everyday interactions with students makes conversing and getting her clients comfortable in front of the camera, all the better. “I know how to interact with them, and understand what their concerns are, and inhibitions are in regard to how they want their pictures to be taken. I try to be funny to lighten up the atmosphere so they can relax in order to capture that special moment of their senior year.”
Does the job require a lot of traveling?
Since these pictures appeal to each student’s preferences and theme of the photoshoot, Mrs. Kramer travels all around, seeking beautiful scenery across WNY. “We pick different locations based on what style they want such as a city look, a country look, or maybe near some greenery or water. So basically anywhere from Hamburg to Niagara Falls, which are usually the popular choices among my clients. The location depends on what my client’s preferences are, as my top priority is always to make my clients be happy, and satisfied with the end product.” If you haven’t seen her work just take a quick look at any page in the yearbook, she’s likely the master behind the camera. Along with senior pictures she takes all of the sports and action shots found in our yearbook, and a few for North High School as well. She continues that sometimes it can get exhausting, but being in the moment is what fuels her drive.
Do you feel restless if you aren’t busy during the day?
“Well, I never had any instances when I didn’t have anything to do. So basically what I am saying is that I am a worker. I am always looking into doing something else once I am done with the current task at hand. I’m already planning on how to start another company. I believe it would be more home-based, as opposed to me running here, and there to take pictures.” Some of her favorite moments to capture on camera are college sports. Whenever she goes to a UB game she leaves with her jaw dropped, saying “Oh my God! It was amazing!”
What do you do in your free time? I know you mentioned potential retirement plans as a full-time food blogger?
“Well, I would like to be a food blogger, but I am struggling with indoor lighting at the moment. You have to make the food in the morning, but since I don’t get home until later in the evening, I have to use artificial lighting to photograph my food, which is kinda messing me up. I would like to cook every day for dinner, but we eat out a lot since we are always out at sports events. Such this Wednesday and Thursday, I did not get to have dinner because I was at a hockey game with my son. It would be cool if I could create a cookbook though.”
What would the name of the cookbook be?
“Hmm maybe, Sugar and Honey or something catchy!”
Her current blog name is In the Kitchen with Kathleen for anyone interested in trying the delicious recipes she has to offer. Although, she herself isn’t a big fan of the name, we personally think it has a nice ring to it, with very comforting undertones. “I also want to start a coffee business. Probably, selling organic coffee beans because I think organic is probably the way to go.” She also keeps in mind that opening a business, let alone keeping it running, is really difficult. But, she remains hopeful that it can happen in the future.
When you retire, is traveling something you wish to do?
“I do! I used to travel a lot when I was younger with my parents. They took me everywhere like going to California, or Myrtle Beach for two weeks every summer. I went to Eupore twice too when I was around 12 and 13, and then on the college breaks, I used to go to Hawaii, Washington state, Seattle,, and Vancouver with my parents. So, there are still places I want to explore.”
What is your take on starting your own show where you try new foods as you travel?
“Oh yeah, I like that idea! I can be like Anthony Bordon. He used to do a show like that, but unfortunately, he is not alive anymore.” However, she mentioned that the line is drawn on any food with slimy textures; for example, mussels. I am sure that many of you out there can relate to this as well.
What is your favorite memory of East?
“I don’t know if I have just one memory. I thought it was really cool when John Stevens from American Idol visited Buffalo though. He came during the show series to visit his hometown, which is here and came to our high school. So, we ended up doing a huge assembly for him.”
If you could teach any other course at East, not in the Science department, what would you choose?
“Physical Education! You get to have fun all day!” In terms of what she would like to coach, she would lean towards volleyball or softball, especially since she played softball in her childhood. Shortly after, the statement was followed by an emphatic, “Oh, tennis too!”
What is your motivational mantra to students?
“Work hard. Explore new things. Meet somebody that will bring the best out of you, make you the best version of yourself, and not hold you back in what you want to do. Don’t settle for anything less deserving of you, or for the sake of just settling down. I think now it’s a lot easier to find what your true passion is, especially since everything is a lot more accessible with technology. Before when I was younger in school, there weren’t many opportunities to do anything. I majored in Biology which meant I either had to go to medical school or teach. There wasn’t anything a bio major could have done then choose from one of those two options. There weren’t any PAs or nursing programs at the college I went to. I didn’t have any education classes at the college, so when I graduated I didn’t have any education degree. I just had a biology degree. I feel there are a lot more opportunities now than there were before. You can do an internet search and find everything whereas we didn’t even have computers when I started teaching.”
To conclude, readers, take advantage of the opportunities and access we have today. And using Mrs. Kramer as an example, don’t be afraid to go after any of your passions no matter how far-fetched it may be in your eyes. Who knows, you could end up finding something you love and continue it even in the latter part of your life. Thank you Mrs. Kramer for the spectacular insight into your busy and exciting life!
