Jeanette Lovett

“I love puzzles of all kinds,” Science Instructor Jeanette Lovett said. At times, piecing together her many commitments on campus can feel like a puzzle; after all, she is a chemistry teacher, advisor, coach, dorm head, Puzzle Club advisor, and the parent of a toddler.  But Lovett manages to fit the pieces of her life together well, and she is admired by faculty and students alike. Lovett joined the Academy’s Science Department in 2014; since then, she has become “a vocal and integral member of the chemistry teacher cohort,” according to fellow Chemistry Instructor Andrew McTammany. “Ms. Lovett has incredibly high standards for herself and her students,” he said. “She’s dedicated to creating a positive classroom environment, and her classes run like the Swiss Train System: efficient and well-planned.”Lovett graduated from Phillips Academy Andover before attending Brown University. After graduating from college, Lovett taught at PA, then at the Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA. She then received her Masters in Education at Harvard University before coming to Exeter. Lovett said she was drawn to PEA because of her boarding school background, desire to work with self-motivated students, and the Harkness method. “I think [Harkness] is what keeps me here year after year,” she said. “It’s so much more fun for me to engage with my students in discussion rather than stand up and give a lecture.” Even when she is teaching several sections of the same class, Lovett finds each class to be interesting because the “discussions go in different directions.”  Senior Gavin Cotter, who had Lovett as a chemistry instructor for two terms last year,  described her as “an extremely kind person who is always willing to help you if you need it,” adding that her classes were engaging. “She manages to make the learning very fun with a lot of great labs.” Cotter has fond memories of Lovett’s homemade nitrogen-cooled ice cream as “a great way to end the term.”Lovett enjoys teaching in a boarding school setting because of the many ways she is able to interact with students. Especially as a chemistry teacher, which Lovett admits is “not everyone’s favorite subject,” she appreciates having the opportunity to see students outside the classroom.  For Lovett, the time she spends with students in different contexts enables her to “see another side of them.”  As the current dorm head of Lamont and the former head of Gould House, Lovett enjoys dorm life for “having time to talk to the kids without an agenda, like grades or athletic performance, and just getting to know them, talk to them about how their lives are going.” Some of Lovett’s fondest memories at Exeter have been made each year on Academy Life Day, which for her has always been “a really positive experience...where you get to see a lot of bonding within the dorm.” Stephanie Girard, a math instructor and faculty member in Lamont, described Lovett as “very thoughtful and even-keeled, always looking for ways to best serve the students of Lamont and the adults who work there.” She added that Lovett is “incredibly well organized, keeping us all informed about dorm meetings or concerns in a timely and, again, thoughtful manner.”Senior Emma Cohen, who knows Lovett from both the chemistry classroom and the dorm, describes Lovett as “approachable. She’s always ready to help a student, and if she can’t, she’ll send you to the right person for that help.” Cohen said that she and Lovett often joke outside of class, especially when it comes to Lovett’s eighteen-month old son Benjamin, who entertains dorm members with his small toy alligator lawnmower.Lovett has also coached several sports during her time at Exeter including crew, ice hockey, and cycling. She finds that sports “do a lot for kids, especially being on a team.” She expanded on how sports have impacted her own life, saying, “A lot of my personality and character was shaped by being on sports teams.” Lovett appreciates that in sports, students can learn how to work with those who “don’t necessarily think the same way as you.” In high school, Lovett played soccer and ice hockey. She still pursues hockey on a women’s league at the Academy with other teachers.  Lovett also rowed, starting in her senior year at Andover and continuing into college.  “[Crew] is a really demanding sport,” she said, “but it’s one of those sports where you see the results of your hard work.” She added that “I love crew because it is the ultimate team sport; it is imperative that you all pull together.”In her spare time, Lovett enjoys getting outside for jogging, cycling, and, in the summer, hiking. Indoors, she is an avid reader and puzzle solver -- both crossword and jigsaw.  “I like baking, but not cooking,” she added. The Lovett family is also expecting a second child this spring, and Lovett was creative—as well as scientific—in letting the dorm know about the baby by hosting a “gender reveal party.”  Lovett mixed two clear liquids together in a beaker, which turned blue. “So, it’s another boy!” she told the dorm.