By Jinane Ejjed '26
Tom Winterbottom joins College Prep as the newest member of the world languages department, teaching Spanish. In his first interview with the Radar, Dr. Winterbottom discusses his love for gardening, cooking, and teaching.
Dr. Winterbottom holds a B.A. in Spanish and Portuguese and a M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Manchester, as well as a Ph.D. in Iberian and Latin American Cultures from Stanford University.
Dr. Winterbottom has extensive experience teaching. Most recently, he taught courses in Spanish language, Portuguese language, Afro-Brazillian culture and history, and Latin Cinema at Stanford University.
The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Where did you grow up?
I was born and grew up in an area called the Lake District where the nearest big city was Manchester. I lived in a tiny rural village of five houses, and went to a small, local elementary school. The Lake District is a national park with lots of hills, lakes, and open spaces around. I spent a lot of my childhood running around the forest and going up hills with my three older siblings.
What college did you go to?
When I was around ten, we moved to a town between London and Oxford. I went to high school in a town called Aylesbury, then went to college at the University of Manchester for undergrad. After my undergrad, I continued at Manchester for a Master’s in Spanish and Portuguese. Fun fact: when I was 18 years old, I took a gap year with a friend teaching English in Argentina as a high school teacher for one semester. Originally, I was going to be a biology major with a minor in Spanish. But after that trip, I changed my major to Spanish and Portuguese...and it gave me another opportunity to live abroad. In 2010, I moved to California to do a Ph.D. in Latin American studies at Stanford and then I taught there for seven years before coming to CPS.
What inspires you to teach?
I get a lot of energy from being in the classroom with students. I love it when I can work with students: I especially enjoy that we can work through something if that doesn’t make sense so it can come together. I love the social aspect of being in a classroom, and getting to know different groups of students.
What hobbies do you have outside of the classroom?
Although I am not a “good” gardener, I love gardening and I do it to relax once or twice a week. Cooking is also a really relaxing activity for me—I cook Italian food, and I have also had my own sourdough starter for more than 10 years. If anyone wants any of the starter, just come and ask me! I also really love going into nature, biking, hiking, and spending time with my family and friends. I bike to work, and on weekends I try to cycle. I have two young kids and a partner, and we all enjoy watching movies and reading together.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Two of my favorite countries I have already traveled to are Argentina and Brazil. But I would definitely travel to Japan, Mozambique, and New Zealand.
What’s a fun fact about you that most people don’t know?
I once bought a 1980s camper van and traveled to more than 20 national parks in the United States over the course of a few months.
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