Science teacher by day, extreme athlete by night

By Emily Zhao

Science teacher Meredith DeRoos transferred to Piedmont Hills this year and teaches biology and forensics.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Ms. DeRoos moved to California in her senior year of high school to Santa Barbara, where her mother got a job. Like her mother, she decided to pursue the line of teaching after her friend introduced her to a credentials program.

“I had a friend in the credential program that told me what it was like teaching, and it sounded like something I would really enjoy. So I decided to go to the credential program and found out that I really love teaching,” explains Ms. DeRoos.

While teaching is Ms. DeRoos’s day job, she enjoys runing, biking and dancing in her free time.

“I’ve (run) three marathons before, and I’m training for one right now. It’s going to be my worst time ever, because it’s been like four to five years since I’ve ran one. I have a lot of schoolwork, so I don’t have as much time to train as I would like,” says Ms. DeRoos.

To train for her upcoming marathon, she runs five times a week, cumulating anywhere from four to twenty miles a day. In the past, Ms. DeRoos ran the San Diego Marathon, Avenue of the Giants and the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon. Her favorite race by far is the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon, the same race she is currently training for.

“You run through the redwoods so there’s a lot less people. The San Diego (Marathon) had too many people, and this one is just you and trees, so it’s pretty nice,” elaborates Ms. DeRoos.

She began running marathons on a whim.

“I used to be a waitress, and my coworker came in one day into our restaurant and asked me if I wanted to run a marathon with her. I said okay. She taught me how to run—I wore (a combination of) big hiking boots and sneakers the first time we went running. That wasn’t a good idea,” laughs Ms. DeRoos.

Aside from running, she is also an avid dancer. Ms. DeRoos takes dance classes in her free time, learning Hawaiian dancing, ballet, and more. Additionally, she also loves traveling.

“I traveled around the country in a motorhome for two months with my mom when I was a teenager. We started in Pennsylvania, then drove down to Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Oregon, Washington and then back across. That was by far the best vacation I’ve ever had—everything was so new,” she recalled.

Next year, Ms. DeRoos plans on teaching Biotechnology. In the future, she plans on learning Spanish fluently and running at more races.