Alumni Spotlight: Claire Woodworth | Ambleside School
Alumni Spotlight
Claire Woodworth
In celebration of our 25th anniversary of Ambleside School, each month we’ll be featuring a short spotlight article about graduates of our school and what they’re doing now.
Singing hymns every morning in Chapel. Bonding over egg salad sandwiches with first grade teacher, Mrs. Maffei. Playing endless kickball games at recess. Shakespeare festivals every year. These are among Claire Woodworth’s favorite memories of her time at Ambleside School.
“I looked forward to going to school every day,” says Claire. And even though she didn’t realize it at the time, now she clearly sees how her K–8 years at Ambleside cultivated within her a deep love for learning. For her it was a privilege to be exposed to so many areas of study and God’s creation without the stress of tests and grades. “I am so grateful for the rich learning environment I experienced for my childhood education,” she says.
For Claire, the learning environment was also enhanced by the smaller class sizes and being able to have the same teachers for multiple years. These combined classroom features allowed her to cultivate deep, meaningful relationships with her teachers and peers. “They felt like a second family. It was a gift to be known and seen in those formative years.”
Her first and fourth grade teacher Mrs. Maffei especially stands out in her memory. Not only for the “i before e, except after c, sounding like a as in Mrs. Maffei” saying to help Claire learn to read, but also for a love of egg salad sandwiches. “I never finished my whole egg salad sandwich my mom would pack for my lunch so I would give Mrs. Maffei half.” By fourth grade, Claire was able to eat the entire egg salad sandwich. But, because she knew her teacher loved those egg salad sandwiches, she says, “My mom would pack me an extra half to give to Mrs. Maffei to enjoy.”
Besides the fond memories, Claire shared how her Ambleside education also helped her grow in character and enabled her to confidently engage with adults. She felt well-prepared to take on her role as a registered nurse because of the narration and dictation lessons which undergirded her education. During her hospital shifts, she would use these communication skills to give reports to the oncoming nurses and hold daily meetings with the care team. “I was constantly using narration and dictation skills to update both family members and doctors on the status of a patient.”
Now, Claire finds her duties closer to home. She is wife to husband Sam, whom she met at Messiah University and has been married to for six years. And she is mother to her fun, spunky three-year-old daughter Charlotte who loves dressing up and riding her scooter. They read loads of stories, go hiking, and love anything to do with water.
But something else both Claire and her daughter love is singing the hymns she learned in assembly and Friday chapel at Ambleside. “Those are the songs I’ve sung to my daughter as I put her to bed… she can sing several verses of ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness.’” A proud accomplishment for Charlie and a special ritual for mother and daughter.
The power of an Ambleside education can be seen in Claire’s life, both in the greater and in the small things. Claire will never forget her years on campus, and is grateful for all that Ambleside gave her.