Ms. Otley has joined Belmont Hill as a math teacher and advisor. Ms. Otley grew up in Charlotte, Vermont, a small town that, according to her, “arguably has a larger cow population than the human population.” She has two siblings who are twin brothers, and they are occasionally mistaken by others as triplets because of their similar ages. She attended Champlain Valley Union High School, the local public high school, where she played basketball, ran Track & Field, was the president of the Athletic Leadership Council, and was a part of the Environmental Action club.
Ms. Otley just completed her degree in applied mathematics with a minor in physics at Tufts University. She also played college basketball there with an impressive record over her four years, including a 2019 NESCAC Championship and a 2017 NCAA Division III National Runner-up.
When asked if she had any tips for students, Ms. Otley says that for math problems, “talking through tough problems and working together will help you gain familiarity and confidence with the material. Work on assignments together over Zoom, call each other to check your answers, participate in virtual X-Block. The more you engage with the material, the more success you will find with it.”
Even though this is Ms. Otley’s first year teaching, she has experience in outdoor education where she led middle school students on backpacking, camping and rafting trips in the Colorado Rockies. Ms. Otley is teaching two sections of AP AB Calculus and one section of regular calculus while also co-advising with Mr. Schneider. She hopes to coach basketball in the future. The Panel looks forward to seeing Ms. Otley around campus in the coming year and wishes her the best of luck as she starts her first year at Belmont Hill.
