Ms. Rebecca Roberie joined the Social Studies department this year, teaching Applied World History. She majored in Criminology at Texas State University. As well as teaching, Ms. Roberie has expressed her passion towards writing in her new TV show, Chateau Lune, which aired on Friday, Oct. 30.

“I started college in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and then I went to a school in Kansas,” Ms. Roberie said. “I eventually found my way here to Austin. I went to [Austin Community College] for a couple of years, and then Texas State where I got my undergraduate degree and masters [degree].”

This is Ms. Roberie’s first year of teaching. Prior to teaching, she worked in the textile industry selling baby blankets. When her business partner stepped out of the business, she changed her store into a coffee shop. At the end of 2019, she decided to close down her shop and look for a job in the technology field doing high level customer service. She then decided to shift her gears to teaching and was offered a teaching position at Westwood.

“I teach history and social science [because] it’s a huge passion of mine,” Ms. Roberie said. “Sociology, economics, and criminology are what I did my undergraduates degrees in. Those are all just fancy words for statistics. I love being a nerd, and when I got [to Westwood], I got to totally nerd out with everybody.”

In addition to teaching, Ms. Roberie has also expressed her passion for writing. Over the past year, she has worked with a group of writers to produce the show Chateau Lune. The show is about three eccentric people who navigate through situations similar to old horror movies. The first episode, which aired on Friday, Oct. 30, centered around the horror movie 13 Ghosts. The show is currently streaming on NuDu, a free streaming app.

“Nothing is linear in life,” Ms. Roberie said. “After college, I taught undergraduate for a semester, then I started my own business. When my business shut down, I remained very good friends [with my business partner] and he had been talking about this TV show for a long time and I had been kind of helping with the business side of it a little bit with setting up business structures. I asked if he needed help one day on the show because I had done theater, and he said absolutely. I came down to Houston, and I got to know everybody. I was like ‘By the way, I’ve always wanted to be a writer.’ and the director was like ‘Cool, you’re in the writers room now.’”

With the COVID-19 pandemic in the midst, it has been difficult for teachers to adjust for the new virtual setting. However, Ms. Roberie is staying optimistic. 

“I don’t know any different, so to me it’s great,” Ms. Roberie said. “I like it because I have nothing to compare it to. I also know that it’s only going to get easier. Next year when I’m in front of people it will be ten times easier.”

At the end of the day, Ms. Roberie is very excited to be at Westwood. She can’t wait to come back to campus and be able to share interests with the people around her.