James Rider

Spanish & Social Studies Instructor - Appointed 2025

Graduate Degree

M.A. International Development, Clark University

Undergraduate Degree

B.A. Government and International Affairs (double major), Skidmore College

Honors and Awards

Summa Cum Laude, See Beyond Award, Coverdell Fellow

Activities in College

Member of the Gospel Choir and Step Team, Outing Club, and Political Science Honor Society. Studied abroad in India, South Africa, and Brazil on a semester-long comparative program, and took alternative Spring Break trips to Cuba and Guatemala.

Best VCS Moment

Will probably be on our upcoming bike trip along the Erie Canal!

Inspirational Quote

“You can’t control the wind, but you can adjust your sails” – unknown

Hobbies and Interests

Learning new languages, enjoying the outdoors (improving my skiing skills), spending time with my partner and our cat and dog, traveling, clerking at my Quaker Meeting, and cooking.

Brief Biography

I grew up in Dartmouth, Massachusetts and attended public school through high school. As a high schooler after lacrosse or cross country practice, I worked in landscaping alongside some wonderful folks from Guatemala, Cape Verde, and Portugal. There, I gained a curiosity for why and how different groups find their way to the USA. I focused my studies on immigration at Skidmore and, due to their very generous study abroad policies, I had the opportunity to travel internationally quite a bit during my years there. Having caught the travel bug, and wanting to improve my Spanish, I then taught English as a Second Language for 2 years in Madrid, Spain, and served in the Peace Corps as a Youth Development Volunteer in Peru. After being evacuated due to the pandemic, I went back to Massachusetts to get my Master’s degree and be close to family, graduated, then worked for a USAID implementer in Boston. I got sick of the city life, and I moved to Vermont for a position with a non-profit that runs State-Department funded international sports exchange programs, had a chance to travel even more with work, and fell in love with the area (and a woman and her pets). I am excited to get back into teaching here at Vermont Commons, especially working with its sister school in Peru, a country near and dear to my heart.