When Amelia Bauman graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, the decision to come back and teach at Fairmont Schools was an easy decision. As a former student, teaching at Fairmont would bring her full circle, the very place her mother also taught for 19 years.

Bauman, who teaches third grade at the Historic Anaheim campus, describes her four-years at Fairmont as “a happy place that’s fun and rewarding, where no two days are ever the same.” Like so many of Fairmont’s teachers and staff, Amelia started working here as a summer aid, that’s when she fell in love with the notion of working with students on a full-time basis.

When Amelia isn’t at Fairmont, she appreciates spending time outdoors and enjoys hanging out with Noodle and Pippi, her lovable dogs (both mutts). However, one of Amelia’s secret passions is visiting Roadside Americana attractions, also known as roadside kitsch (uniquely odd tourist attractions). Amelia enjoys discovering these fun oddities when she travels through the United States. Some examples: Barbed Wire Museum, Worlds Biggest Ball of Yarn, Bedrock City (Flintstones) in Arizona, and her personal favorite The National Hobo Museum in Britt, Iowa. “They are entertaining and I find myself attracted to them, I don’t know why.”

When she’s not in search of fun oddities, Amelia’s love for her students is evident. Her classroom is bright, clean and a marvelous expression of her passion for teaching. When asked what profession she would have chosen if she had not become a teacher, Amelia chuckled and said: “I definitely would have worked in law enforcement specializing in forensic science.”