If you haven’t heard, there are some new faces on campus this year. Among these new additions to the Vista family is Taylor Alber.

A native of Southern California’s Teston, Alber attended private school and participated in extracurriculars like varsity sports, student council and the Red Cross. “I had a lot of opportunities, and I took advantage of them,” she said.

Like any other person, Alber has held a variety of jobs such as data entry for an environmental company, a horseback riding instructor and a position at REI. However, none of these jobs were fully satisfying. For Alber, it has always gone back to teaching.

Alber says that her mom took a big part in her career choice because she was also a teacher. “Teaching has always been in me,” Alber said.

However, she was also influenced by her father who worked in the environmental business. So when Alber attended Chico State to obtain her undergraduate and graduate education, she combined pieces of both influential figures in her life and earned a B.S. in Geoscience. “I’ve always been inquisitive — I like to question how things work and why things happen,” Alber said.

So why Vista? For one, Alber had always wanted to teach at the high school level, and she was ready for the challenge. Interestingly enough, it was former teacher Greg Gorbach, who had been her master teacher, that introduced her to the school district.

Some of us may know how hard it is to be integrated into a new environment, so how does she like Vista? “I’m definitely very happy with the change,” Alber said, “I love it, and I am learning a lot.”

Overall, Alber takes her job very seriously. “I hope that I am a positive influence on my students, not only academically, but outside of the classroom, too,” Alber said.

Welcome to your new home, Taylor Alber,