Whether she’s spending precious time with her 7 and 9 year-old children, working out, exploring a new place or delving into a good book, Jennifer Eggertsen is full of life.

In high school, Eggertsen played volleyball and was part of the drill team, which she describes as the people who “danced for the band.” At this time in her life she had her mind set on a career in engineering, for which she got a bachelor’s degree at California State University, Northridge. She then worked as an engineer for a private firm in Santa Barbara.

However, “three years into that I decided it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life, so I changed careers in 2002.”

She has now been a math teacher at Foothill for seven years, but believe it or not, teachers have lives outside of the classroom.

In her free time, Eggertsen likes “to work out, I like to do outdoorsy things like go for a hike, I like to hang out with my friends, I like to read.”

Eggertsen has always been active, having danced and played volleyball in high school, and her sportiness has evolved into a love of exercise.

“Fitness is my passion,” Eggertsen said.

She was also a CAP instructor at the beginning of the 2017 school year, which she said she “loved” and that it’s something she’d like to do again. In fact, she’s hoping to be out back leading students in CAP again during fourth quarter.

For everyone seeking the kind of drive Eggertsen has to work out, her secret motivational tool is “knowing that I’m paying a lot of money for the gym.”

Aside from fitness, Eggertsen says that traveling is her “thing.” Her first big trip was right out of college, when she went backpacking in Europe alone for three months.

“Ever since then I’ve not stopped traveling,” she said.“Every year I try to go somewhere I’ve never been.”

This past summer, she took her kids to several national parks, including Yellowstone, Bryce, Grand Canyon and Zion.

As she also has a love of reading, it comes as no surprise that one of her favorite authors is Bill Bryson, who writes travel books.

Eggertsen said, “I don’t really do anything out of the ordinary.” She prefers to spend time with her kids, as they are still very young.

She is grateful that her working just three days a week not only allows her to be with the kids more, but helps her to bring liveliness into the classroom.

“When I come to school, I’m full of energy because I had just had a day off the day before,” she said.

Overall, she enjoys bringing enthusiasm not just into the classroom, but into her everyday life.