Dr. June Bourque

Art by Celia Bergman

10 years of teaching at KHS

TKC: What are your retirement plans?

Bourque: The plan at the moment is to leave the U.S. and find some tropical area. I’m presently looking at Belize, but I’m not going to rule out Costa Rica or Panama. Something of that nature. As long as I can actively [live abroad], I will, so [I plan to] travel a lot. I may end up living in a different place every year for all I know.

TKC: Why are you moving away?

Bourque: [I want to do this] in a way to get away from it all. I just feel like I’ve worked really hard for many years and it has sort of consumed my life. I want to go away where I don’t even think about to-do lists or have any connections to work. I just want to do what I want to do and travel and see the rest of the world that I never got to see while I’m still alive and kicking.

TKC: Will you do anything with biology in retirement?

Bourque: For the time being, probably not. I don’t think I want to teach anymore. I’m just exhausted and children and students have changed so much, as have I and I’d rather just leave that behind. As far as going back into research, I’m really out of that. Maybe doing some volunteer work down the road, but right after [retirement], no. I just want to leave it alone for a while.

TKC: What is your favorite memory at KHS?

Bourque: One of my favorite memories is having early morning [review] for my AP classes. We would have early morning classes before school started [during the school year]. We would start about 6:40 or 6:45 and that time was just really special, because there was no one else at school except for the AP Chem and AP physics students. It was a really bonding time, and one year I had a particularly fun bunch of girls. I would play Christmas music, and they started singing and dancing to Christmas music. It went on and on for a long time and it was very fun and a nice memory to have. TKC: What will you miss the most about KHS?

Bourque: Just the students. I still keep in touch with students from the very first year I was here. Hoping that you have an impact on kids, but actually to have them keep coming back and visit and keeping in touch and everything, you kind of miss that. I’ll miss that. I’ll miss them and treating them as my children. I’ll miss that for sure.

TKC: What are you most excited for in retirement?

Bourque: Sleep! Not having to get up and always be so responsible for so many things. When you teach, you’re responsible for bringing these kids from point A to point B, and particularly AP students and getting them to pass the AP test. After a while, it’s a burden to carry, so just feeling free of a lot of responsibilities and being able to have my own thoughts.

TKC: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Bourque: This is the first job I’ve ever had where I felt like I could just be me. I didn’t have to be somebody else to have this job. I could just be me and I was accepted as such. Kirkwood, the whole school to me, is family. The first year I was here, my son passed away and everybody came together so much for me. I will never forget that as long as I live. That was a big deal for me. I don’t think I would have survived had I been at any other school, because the support I got here was just unbelievable. Someone would come over and take my classes if there was something going on or if some other kid passed away. People would come and rally around. My students were just incredible. I could not have survived had I not been here.