Raised in Boise, Gretchen Litzsinger decided that she needed a break from Idaho life and moved to Oregon for college. While she was there, she attended Southern Oregon University and graduated with honors. Her proudest accomplishment is graduating a year early and saving herself from extra student debt. While she was in high school she hustled to get as many college credits as possible through AP programs, so by the time she entered college she was considered a sophomore. Her first year of teaching was spent as a full time substitute teacher in the Boise area. As a substitute she had the opportunity to work with all grade levels, and she discovered that first grade students were her favorite to teach because they’re just so cute and innocent. Although she loves first grade students, Litzsinger also enjoys teaching high school students and is excited about her first year as BHS’s newest English teacher. 

Litzsinger’s inspiration to pursue a career in education came from her high school English teacher. At the time she was having college concerns and experiencing “a mid high school crisis,” but thanks to her English teacher she was able to figure out what she wanted to do. She hopes she can help prepare students the way her teacher prepared her. Her goal as a teacher is to give students the skills they need to reach their full potential and open their minds. After students leave her class, she would like to think that she inspired them to go out in the world and do their own research, so they can share their knowledge with other people. 

When she was growing up her favorite family tradition was going to her grandparent’s lake home in Coeur d’Alene. They would visit for a week or two and go wakeboarding, waterskiing, and kayaking. Her family would also go on hikes and play volleyball with each other while they were up there. Litzsinger has one younger brother who she likes to hang out with in the outdoors. Her younger brother recently joined the airforce, so she hopes he will be stationed in Alaska where she can visit him. Alaska has a special place in her heart because she was born there, and she would like to retire there because of the gorgeous scenery it has to offer. 

Some of Litzsinger’s hobbies include volleyball, embroidery, painting, and watching scary shows. One of her favorite shows is Game of Thrones and her favorite music genre is classic rock. Although she loves classic rock, the song she would want to play every time she entered a room would be “X Gon Give It To Ya by DMX.” She says the song would prepare the room for the “bossery that’s about to happen” and help “assert the dominance for me.” Litzsinger’s favorite foods include enchiladas, mac and cheese, pizza, sushi, and tamales. As long as it has cheese on it, she’ll most likely like it.