JENNIFER R. ONKEN
B.A., Middlebury College
M.A., Middlebury College
Upper School Dean of Students, English, Lacrosse (*2005)

Jen Onken is a newcomer to Berwick this year. She is working as the Dean of Students and teaching freshman and junior English.  Ms. Onken is also a student advisor and the coach of the girls varsity lacrosse team.

Born and raised in southern New York, Ms. Onken is feeling slightly intimidated by so many Red Sox and Patriots fans, now that those teams seem to have finally started winning. She attended Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, NY. A graduate of Middlebury College, Ms. Onken majored in American Literature with a minor in American History. After teaching upper school humanities for three years at the Barrie School outside Washington, DC, Ms. Onken decided to forgo all things American, pursue her passion for the ancient world, and move overseas with her future husband, Chris, whom she met while a graduate student at Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English, where she holds an M.A. in English. The Onkens spent three years teaching in the Middle East at the American International School in Alexandria, Egypt and the American Community School in Beirut, Lebanon. There they attempted to learn Arabic, explore as many markets and ruins as they could find, and savor the remarkable hospitality of their Arab neighbors. Before returning to the U.S. and to Berwick Academy, Ms. Onken and her husband spent two years as Peace Corps Volunteers in the Kingdom of Lesotho in Southern Africa, where they worked in education development in two rural mountain schools as resource teachers in primary education, with a focus on special education and HIV/AIDS youth education.

When not in school, Ms. Onken can be found wandering in the woods or near the water. She loves backpacking with her husband, despite his formidable off-trail excursions in foreign countries, cooking with recipes she acquired while overseas, watching good movies, and reading the novels and poetry of international writers.