The Coat of Arms sat down with new science teacher Alexis King. Photo courtesy Alexis King.

Zoey Lieberman | A&L Editor and Sophie White | Staff Reporter

CoA: Why did you want to come to Menlo and be a teacher?
AK: I grew up in California. grew up in Oakland, and I’d been living on the East Coast for far too long. It was really cold. I wanted to be back in California in better weather, and be closer to my family. And Menlo was awesome when I came to visit.

CoA: What was your old school like?
AK: Worcester Academy was an East Coast prep school, so kids wore button-downs, and ties, and khakis. It was part boarding, so one-third of our kids were international [students], so we had kids from Korea, Greece, and Brazil, and Kazakhstan […] it was very different in that regard.

CoA: What has been the hardest adjustment since coming to Menlo?
AK: Getting used to shorter classes. At my old school, we had 75 minute classes, so shorter classes have been quite an adjustment.

CoA: Do you have a hobby?
AK: I have lots of hobbies. I really like being outdoors, so camping and hiking, and all of that, I play lots of volleyball […] I love volleyball. In college, I was a mime […] I got into it randomly-mI went to the activities fair […] I did shows and it was really fun. I like playing board games[…]yeah, lots of hobbies.

CoA: Tell us a little bit about your family.
AK: I grew up in Oakland with my mom, so it was just her and I growing up- for a while we used to live with my grandparents as well who lived in Berkeley. My grandpa was a professor of art, so I spent a lot of time on the Berkeley campus. My mom was a showgirl for 20 years, and then she retired she became a flight attendant. When she flew, I stayed with my grandparents- I was with them for about half the time and with my mom for the other half.

CoA: Last meal on Earth, what would it be?

AK: Oooh, that’s hard. Oh, I don’t know. I really like deep-dish pizza.

CoA: Who would play you in a movie?
AK: I’m so bad at pop culture[…]I never watch TV or movies, so I’m really bad at that stuff. Who would play me in a movie? I don’t know. I really like Emma Stone.

CoA: What is your prized possession?
AK: I’ve moved so much in my life that you stop having things […] when you move a lot you don’t want to pack stuff so you end up leaving it behind. I had a blankie growing up that I slept with. And still when I go home, it’s still sitting on my bed. So I’ll come home for Christmas and sleep with my blankie
and then be like, “Alright, it’s time to be an adult again.” I think if there were to be a fire or anything, my prized possession would be my photo albums that I make from trips and things like that.

CoA: What’s your guilty pleasure?
AK: Oooh yeah. I watch “Pretty Little Liars” […] that’s a guilty pleasure, a huge guilty pleasure. I’m ashamed to admit it.

CoA: What ‘vibe’ do you get from Menlo and Menlo’s students?
AK: Kids and students are really happy here, which is nice. People generally seem smiley and happy around the quad and socializing.

CoA: Describe your teenage self.
AK: Really quirky. Really loud-yeah, I’ll go with that. I used to wear lots of crazy knee-high socks to school all the time[..] with different colors and stripes all the time.

CoA: Do you believe in your zodiac and your horoscope?
AK: Oh yeah, totally. I’m a Pisces– they’re the best. We’re very creative.

CoA: What’s your most embarrassing moment?
AK: That’s also hard-I don’t get embarrassed very easily. I had an embarrassing moment at Menlo recently on a Barbeque Day. I didn’t realize that they served you, so I just started taking stuff and the woman was looking at me really strangely, and I felt SO bad. When someone else else came, she gave them a hot dog, and I was like, “I’m soo sorry, I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to touch that.” That was a little bit embarrassing.