After 19 years of teaching math and engineering at Saratoga High and 30 years of teaching altogether, Audrey Warmuth is retiring at the end of the school year. She currently teaches Engineering Design and Development (EDD), Intro to Engineering Design (IED) and Digital Electronics.
Before pursuing teaching, Warmuth received her engineering degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and worked as an engineer at Canadair, an aircraft manufacturing company. However, dissatisfaction from a lack of human engagement at her job motivated her to become a teacher instead — she hoped to feel like she was making more of a difference for people, as opposed to a product.
Prior to teaching at SHS, Warmuth worked for 11 years at Lynbrook High, where she taught various math courses ranging from Algebra 1 to AP Calculus AB. After being hired at SHS in 2006, she began as an AP Calculus BC teacher, which she taught for 15 years before transitioning to engineering classes in 2011.
Warmuth said she wanted to switch to teaching a more applied class where theory and concepts could be used in a hand-on manner.
Warmuth spearheaded the development of the engineering program from the ground up, creating thriving classes in a former woodshop space that was later remodeled into a state-of-the-art facility under her guidance along with physics teacher Matthew Welander.
Welander recalls working closely with Warmuth to develop the curriculum for the new engineering courses.
“She was always super supportive of me, even though I was new and she didn’t really know me very well before starting this process,” Welander said. “What I really remember is how much she always showed appreciation for my contributions and my ideas and what we ended up creating really is a collaborative effort.”
In 2014, her colleagues selected her as the District Teacher of the Year; she also won a Special Teacher Recognition Award for Innovation in STEM Awards in the Perseverance category.
She spent years of work and tireless efforts not only building multiple new curriculums, but also physically partaking in the reconditioning of the STEM room, all resulting in the immersive engineering classes and facility standing today.
For her students, Warmuth did more than just teach her class — she inspired a passion for the subject. Many students who have taken her classes ended up pursuing an engineering-related major in college. Senior Renn Blanco, who takes EDD, is one of these students.
“I really like how hands-on the class is as well as all the projects we do,” Blanco said. “[Warmuth] is always willing to help and she’s super knowledgeable which is very helpful. She gives us a lot of creative liberty when it comes to projects and that really pushes us to think harder and make something special.”
Warmuth’s desire for more free time prompted her decision to retire. She said working as a teacher and going to school can get tiring, and wants more time for herself — to eat better, exercise more, sleep better and spend more time with family.
“I will miss being on campus,” Warmuth said. “I do still enjoy being in the classroom. At the end of the day I do get tired like everybody else, but I enjoy being in the classroom. I’m also going to miss my colleagues and friends.”
