Teacher at Santa Rosa Union High School District
San Francisco Bay Area
- Current
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- Teacher at Santa Rosa High School
- Past
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- PR Associate at Siduri Winery
- Education
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- San Jose State University
- San Jose State University
- Industry
- E-Learning
- Websites
Sam Merrin’s Summary
Sam Merrin, a high school computer lit teacher, majored in Education and minored in Public Relations at San Jose State University (SJSU). She soared through the CBEST test and graduated with her BA in the spring of 2003, but instead of teaching, she decided to try her hand at marketing. Since she had grown up in the California wine region and had garnered quite a bit of wine knowledge during that time, she resolved to apply for all of the open PR positions in Sonoma County. After interviewing for several brand name wineries and not being offered a position, she resorted to applying for and accepting a job at a small, family-owned vineyard.
While working for Siduri Wines was rewarding for Sam Merrin, the position was far from what she had hoped to achieve in her career, and after two years, she was ready for a job change. She originally thought she would apply for a different type of PR position, but when a good friend mentioned some local schools were in need of teachers, she decided to apply. A Santa Rosa High School happened to be looking for someone with her background in web design and computation, a skill set she had perfect while promoting Siduri Wines, and she was offered a computer lit teaching position. Instructing young people has been one of the most rewarding jobs of her career, and she plans to continue teaching for years to come.
When she is not teaching, Sam Merrin enjoys blogging, giving advice, dancing, reading, listening to music, pilates, and taking long walks. She is also extremely fond of foreign films and travel. She recently returned from a trip to Europe and hopes to make another excursion in the near future.
Sam Merrin’s Specialties:
Teaching, computational, public relational, marketing, programming, and web designing skills
Sam Merrin’s Experience
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Teacher
Santa Rosa High School
(Educational Institution; 11-50 employees; Education Management industry)
August 2006 — Present (2 years 3 months)
I teach classes in computer literacy, programming, and web design to high school students.
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PR Associate
Siduri Winery
(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Wine and Spirits industry)
July 2003 — December 2005 (2 years 6 months)
After graduation from San Jose State, Sam Merrin interviewed at about 30 wineries for a PR associate position. Few in the wine industry, however, cared to offer her a job. In need of money for rent and groceries, as many are, Sam Merrin took the first job offered to her: a low paying, low profile job, but more rewarding than she could ever have imagined.
Sam Merrin’s Education
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San Jose State University
Minor, Public Relations, 1999 — 2003
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San Jose State University
BA, Education, 1999 — 2003
Additional Information
Sam Merrin’s Websites:
Sam Merrin’s Interests:
Wines and wineries, Public Relations, new technologies in education, C++ programming, teaching technology, Pilates, gyms, running, travel in California.
Sam Merrin’s Groups:
NEA (National Education Association)
Sam Merrin’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- expertise requests
- reference requests
