Growing up on a farm, Reynotta Jahnke Hoberecht, EdD, recalls finding flint in the soil on a rainy day at three or four years old, which she later found out the Native Americans used for tools such as arrows. From then on, her curiosity and interest in anthropology began. She most recently served as an administrative assistant within Travis Unified Schools in California from 1995 to 2003. Prior to this role, Dr. Hoberecht began her career teaching within the district in 1971, remaining in this position for 28 years. She taught eighth grade English and remedial reading at Golden West Middle School for eight years, and then remedial reading at Golden West High School from 1995 on when the war was over. In addition, she participated in the Unidad de Paleontologia Expedition in Las Hoyas, Spain, in 1992.
Before the start of her professional career, Dr. Hoberecht pursued a formal education at the University of Wisconsin, earning a Bachelor of Science in 1961. She then matriculated at the University of San Francisco, where she obtained a Master of Arts in 1978 and EdD in 1998. Dr. Hoberecht considered taking a different career path. She learned as a senior in college getting a bachelor’s degree that she could be an architect, but she didn’t want to start over again. When she was in high school, she was put in with the PE; it was all on world history, and she thought that sort of thing was really exciting. When she goes to Europe, it is a whole different ball game.
Active with the California Teachers Association as secretary from 1967 to 1968 and treasurer from 1994 to 1999, Dr. Hoberecht recalls a major highlight of her career as her two-week experience working with an expedition in Montana called “The First Americans.” She had to spend some time living in a tent, experiencing the coldest conditions she can ever recall enduring. During the expedition, she discovered artifacts such as thousand-year-old slingshots used by the natives of the land.
In recognition of her accomplishments, Dr. Hoberecht received the Ecosystems Project Award from the Travis School Board in 1993 and the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, she has been listed in the 20th edition of Who’s Who in the World, the 27th edition of Who’s Who in the West, and the 56th edition of Who’s Who in America. Dr. Hoberecht credits her late husband, Hal G. Hoberecht, as a great mentor in her life. He insisted that she should study physical anthropology for a doctoral degree, where she learned about DNA as well.
Dr. Hoberecht grew up in the country, and she had all these flowers blooming. She used to bring the flowers to school, where her principal would say “How can any parent be upset when they see flowers?”