LEWISTON — After graduating from Lewiston High School in 2005, Abby Dix went off to college to study advertising and journalism.
She worked summers as a camp counselor for Auburn rec and that ended up changing everything.
“My heart was with the kids,” said Dix, 30, who returned to school and switched her major to education.
She landed her first post-college job at Farwell Elementary School. Dix went in interviewing to be a fifth-grade teacher. She was surprised when they offered second grade instead.
“I was so nervous about it,” said Dix. “I went home and I started thinking, ‘What were the books that second-graders read?’ And all of those books were my favorite books growing up. I was kind of like, ‘Oh, that makes sense, this feels right.’ I’ve been there since because I love it so much.
“They are still so excited to learn, and (there are) all of those light-bulb moments where they just finally get it and it starts clicking,” she said.
Dix grew up in Lewiston and attended Holy Cross School in her younger years. She knew early that she wanted to settle down in her hometown.
“When I was growing up, Holy Cross, the population was very different,” she said. “I guess we were very sheltered. When I entered high school was when we had the first wave of Somali immigrants move in. It was a huge culture shock. I also noticed that there was a lot of poverty in the high school, something I never really noticed growing up, so I knew that I wanted to come back to help, to give back.”
Dix has a 2-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son. She jokes that she balances work and home with “a lot of caffeine and just a lot of support.”
She also earned a master’s degree in literacy, and that may lead to a career twist down the road.
“Eventually, my dream would be to do field trip coordination for museums or something, basing field trips off of state standards and curriculum for different places,” Dix said. “I’ve just got to figure out how to get into it.”
kskelton@sunjournal.com
“My heart was with the kids.”
40 Under 40’s Abby Dix
40 Under 40’s Abby Dix with her family, husband Jeremy, daughter Genevieve, 2, and James, 10 months.
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