Mrs. Dixon
Mrs. Dixon is Ridgeview’s College Advising Director. She also teaches juniors in Vocation, Career & College and in an SAT preparation course, and she coordinates standardized testing and AP testing for 9th-12th grade students. She loves helping students understand they have career and college options no matter their interests.
Mrs. Dixon grew up in the Midwest and attended college in Minnesota, receiving her BA degree in History from Carleton College. After four post-college years working in higher education, she earned her MLA at the University of Colorado and her MPA at Harvard University. She has divided her professional career between the fields of education and land planning. For several post-MLA years, she worked with communities and landowners on conservation and land planning for agricultural and recreational lands, and she taught college courses on land planning and natural resource policy.
Mrs. Dixon renewed her interest in higher education and college admissions when she and her family returned to Colorado in 2009 after a ten-year absence, and she found herself assisting the friends of her own children as they began applying to college. She completed a College Counseling graduate certificate from UCLA and assisted in Ridgeview’s college advising program prior to becoming College Advising Director in 2017. Mrs. Dixon regularly participates in professional organizations focused on college admissions, college advising for high school students, and financial aid. She loves college tours and has visited many colleges throughout the U.S. and beyond. She is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the Rocky Mountain Association for College Admission Counseling, and the Colorado Council on High School/College Relations.
Mrs. Dixon loves travel, especially when it involves visits with her young-adult daughters. She and her husband also hike, bike, and camp whenever the opportunity arises.
Q & A with Mrs. Dixon
Where were you born and where have you lived?
I was born in Indiana and I have also lived in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts, Colorado, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Colorado again, in that order. I have all the time zones in the contiguous U.S. covered!
Where did you attend university or college?
BA, History, Carleton College
MLA, University of Colorado
MPA, Harvard University
Certificate in College Counseling, UCLA
What kind of reading do you most enjoy doing?
I love reading American and Latin American history. Every day, I also try to keep up on current events and cultural issues through periodicals. Besides that, I like to keep a good mix of contemporary fiction going -- some authors I've enjoyed recently have been Ann Patchett, Barbara Kingsolver, Abraham Verghese, Marilynne Robinson, Khaled Hosseini, Alexander McCall Smith, and Emily St. John Mandel.
What are the small essentials that make life more comfortable?
Long-sleeved t-shirts, coffee, good music.
What are your favorite snacks?
Any fruit in season – Palisade peaches are the BEST. Also a Handful of Everything trail mix.
What do you do to unwind?
Walk the neighborhood and trails of Fort Collins with Quincy, my corgi mix, cook, hike and enjoy the mountains, and travel whenever I have the opportunity.
How could a parent volunteer help you most?
Occasionally when I hold informational sessions and workshops for groups of parents or students, a helping hand could be useful.
