Destry Sibley

Zinc tutor and Boot Camp teacher Destry was born and raised in Portland, Maine. She has a BA from Amherst College and an MA in digital media and narrative nonfiction from the City University of New York. She has experience teaching students of all ages, from kindergarten to college, and previously served as an Education Fellow at the New York Public Library. When she is not tutoring, Destry is pursuing her doctorate in English literature and working as a freelance writer and media producer. She was a Fulbright Scholar and National Geographic Digital Storyteller in Mexico in 2018.

We asked Destry about favorite teachers, life-changing reads, and college advice.

Who was your favorite teacher and why?

It would be too hard for me to pick one; I’ve had so many teachers who have changed my life meaningfully. But my favorite teachers have had a few qualities in common: a razor-sharp intellect, an appreciation for the political nature of pedagogy, and a vision of the thinker and person I could become. 

What’s a book that’s changed the way you see the world?

Every good book changes the way I see the world! Isn’t that the point of reading? But the last great book I read was When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka, a fictional account of one family’s experience surviving a Japanese internment camp in the 1940s. Otsuka’s prose is luminescent. 

What do you wish someone had told you when you were going through the college process?

It’s all going to be okay. The college you go to is ultimately not going to be the thing that determines your fate. You can have a successful, fulfilling, meaningful, and joy-filled life, no matter the college you attend.

Check out some of the recent podcasts Destry has produced:

The Children of Morelia on The New Yorker Radio Hour

How Trump Closed the U.S. to Asylum Seekers on The New Yorker Radio Hour

Visit Destry’s website to learn more!

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