By: Andrea Fine

We are so fortunate to live in a city that not only affords us the luxury of beautiful weather, gorgeous scenery, great shopping, nice restaurants and wonderful neighbors, but also excellent education. Many of our children had the good fortune to graduate from Corona del Mar High School, (CdMHS). Along the way, there have been teachers who have not just taught our kids, but also mentored, guided and inspired them. Laura Mayberry is one of those teachers.

Laura was born in Fargo, North Dakota to Jack and Sharon Mayberry. She is the older of their two daughters. Her father served in the military as a navy captain, and they moved often. She spent parts of her childhood in Hawaii, Illinois, Rhode Island, and both northern and southern California. Laura attended high school in San Diego and college at Cal State University Long Beach where she was a pitcher on their softball team. She earned her teaching credential along with a minor in comparative literature. She did her student teaching at Estancia high school and became a full-time teacher at CdM in 2000-01. In her early days at CdMHS, she taught economics and eighth grade US history. She also coached the women’s softball team from 2001-2009. Laura said growing up she did not want to teach. She always thought she would go to law school. In the spring of her senior year, while at Cal State Long Beach, Laura had a history professor who impressed her so much she thought that perhaps she would teach for a bit before attending law school. She said to herself, “I’ll teach until it’s not fun anymore.” She told me, “I’m still here, having fun.” Talking to Laura and learning the impact she’s had on so many of our students is both an education and exhausting. She has so much energy and wears so many hats. She oversees the mock trial program, speech and debate, National Honor Society, and the Academy of Global Studies, (AGS). AGS is a program that Laura wrote and developed for CdM.

She recalls, “In 2006–07, there was a trend towards smaller, learning communities. CdM had introduced the performing arts and multimedia academy, PAMA. I was asked that year to teach a class in international relations. I loved it. The kids loved it, but it wasn’t a class carried forward in the curriculum.” Laura believed it was a great asset and began to build around it and create the AGS. Each year she would campaign for it. In 2014 the Academy of global studies was finally introduced as a core study option at CdM. It is comprised of seven advanced placement (AP) classes that include; AP human geography, AP US history, AP world, history, AP economics, AP comparative government, AP research, and AP, seminar courses. Next year the Academy will graduate its 10th class. Laura points out that, “small learning communities make our big campus seem small.” When writing the curriculum it was important to Laura for students to learn the value of service learning, cultural enrichment, and collaboration. For these reasons, the Academy has a philanthropic project, they have adopted, called, The Thirst Project. The Thirst Project is concentrated in Africa. It was started by young students and funds, clean water, drinking wells for countries in need. Each year her students raise money to fund at least one well. Depending on the country, their cost for labor and permits, the well can cost between $8,000-$24,000. To date AGS has funded 9 wells.

In addition to the academic and philanthropic components of AGS there is also the cultural/travel component. Over the past decade, Laura has traveled with her students to more than 30 countries, including Cuba, Russia, India, Eswatini, Germany, and Poland. Austria, England, Spain and France. In February she will be taking a group of almost 40 students to France and Switzerland. It will be her first trip with students to Switzerland. She is excited about that. Laura feels strongly that students forge friendships when traveling the world together. She feels very fortunate to do what she loves. Laura says, “I really like my students. I like who I get to work with and I form lots of lifetime relationships.” To learn more information on the Academy of Global Studies you can visit the CdMHS website and explore the AGS link.

"Laura Mayberry is one of the most committed educators at Cdm. She cares deeply about every student in her classes and creates bonds of trust with each one of them. I learned so much about her when my daughter took APUSH - one of the most rigorous courses a student can take at CdM. In that course, students learn about U.S. History, but so much more. They learn critical thinking, persuasive writing, and research - solid preparation for college. Beyond the students, Laura is a strong representative for her colleagues through NMFT, as well as the staff at Cdm. She is a great friend as well!" Vickie Gilmore, CdMHS, Office Manager

“Ms. Mayberry is one of my favorite teachers. History was never my favorite subject but I always looked forward to her class. I remember each class was always a mix of critical thinking and witty historical commentary. I definitely remember her class being hard but it was certainly enjoyable and rewarding. Even today 13 years later since my first day of APUSH we still keep in contact and I’m so grateful.” AJ Santa Maria, former student