Multi-sport athlete Susan Howe Wood '76 graduated from Lyndon State College with a degree in health and physical education. She went on to earn a master's degree from the University of Vermont in 1986 and continued her professional development throughout her 39-year career. While at Lyndon, Sue played on the softball and lacrosse teams and was part of the volleyball club one year. Her most successful sport was field hockey where she spent three years a part of a successful team as well as being named Most Valuable Player her junior and senior years. Coach Jamie Owen called Sue her "slow and steady fullback, ready to stop anything and everything." Sue was also a member of the Women's Recreation Association, Physical Education Club, and made the dean's list her senior year.
Sue began her teaching career at Mount Abraham Union High School in Bristol, Vt. While there, she coached junior high basketball, JV field hockey, started an afterschool ski program for students, and taught adult education classes, including swimming. After five years, she moved to Champlain Valley Union High School (CVUHS) where she was hired to write and teach the health curriculum for all incoming ninth graders.
During her career at CVUHS, Sue continued her professional development by expanding her knowledge and skills in the area of Wellness. She continued coursework both at UVM and St. Michael's College, attended state, regional, and national conferences, and was instrumental in maintaining rigor in curriculum. A colleague of Sue's states: "Sue is a devoted and inspiring teacher. She is hardworking, insightful, and dedicated to students of all levels. Sue has exhibited a unique creativity and serious attitude in the development of the wellness program and is attentive to academic rigor, relevancy, and current trends."
Aside from her teaching responsibilities, Sue was an AFS advisor, active on several school committees and hiring panels, and started the school-wide wellness program. She was part of a CORE of ninth grade teachers for twelve years, involved with interdisciplinary work, assessment, and standards work. She was also a workshop presenter at both state and regional conferences.
In 1991, Sue was selected CVUHS University of Vermont Teacher of the Year and in 2011, was contributing author to Education from the Heart, a book that includes the work she and a colleague did to bring yoga and mindfulness to the physical education program. In 2016, Sue received the Excellence in Education Award for the Alpha Delta Kappa organization, an honorary group Sue has been very active in for almost 25 years, taking on leadership positions at both the state and regional levels.
Since retiring two years ago, Sue has become an active member of her church, serving on leadership positions for their thrift shop and currently, the capital campaign. She plays piano at the Respite House weekly and devotes mid-week to her 95-year-old mother who has been a role model of positive spirit for her! Sue also enjoys gardening, golfing, meal prep, reading, skiing, and travelling. She lives in Essex Junction, Vt, with husband Steve with whom she has been married for 32 years. They have two daughters Rachel Cohen, a teacher at Colchester High School and Abigail Wood, a labor and delivery nurse in Santa Fe, N.M.
