Biographies

Mrs.Novak Dr. Novak Gretchen Novak
Mrs. Claudia Novak
Job: Systems Administrator/ Title 1 Teacher/Trainer, Nashua School District, Nashua, NH.  I work with teachers and students on how to use technology in the classroom.
Background: In college, I majored in History and Library Science.  My mother and father bred, showed and owned many horses.  I have been working with computers since 1971.  In 1976, I went to French cooking school and I love to cook.  I have been breeding Welsh ponies and Cobs since 1977.  Since 1992, I have traveled with my husband to Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.  I am an avid gardener. 
Likes: Computers, gardening, horses, cooking, history, traveling and reading.
Special Interests:  I currently have two Welsh ponies and three Welsh Cobs at my farm.  I love to study and design gardens.  I love to write.  Every year I add to my garden journal.  I also like to write about my Welsh Ponies and Cobs.  I love to travel and go to new places. 
Overview: I am looking forward to returning to some of my favorite places in Switzerland, Germany and Austria.  It will be fun to share this with my daughter Gretchen who hasn’t been to any of these places before.  It should be fun to visit with some of my Welsh pony e-mail friends in the Netherlands that I have never met before.  
Dr. Leslie Novak
Job: Research Scientist, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA
I evaluate how well radar works.
Background: I graduated from college with a major in Electrical Engineering.  I obtained my Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of California/Los Angeles in 1971.  I have worked at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA since 1977.  I have been an adjunct professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA since 1973 teaching classes in higher mathematics and engineering.  Because of my job, I must travel regularly throughout the United States and the world presenting research papers and teaching classes.  My research has aided in developing navigational systems for missiles.
Special Interests:  I play the clarinet, tenor saxophone and alto saxophone.  I studied music with Lenny Tristrano, a famous blind American jazz musician. 
Likes:  Gardening (growing vegetables), jazz music, World War II history and writing papers on radar.
Overview:  I am looking forward to returning to Germany.   
 

Ms. Gretchen Novak
Job: I work for a law office in Tewksbury, MA.  My office acts as the billing agent for numerous hospitals, specializing in motor vehicle accidents and workman’s compensation insurance claims and collection.
Background
:  I graduated from Seton Hall University with a major in Criminal Justice.  My mother has been breeding Welsh Ponies and Cobs since 1977, which I have been riding and competing since I was 18 months old.  Since 1992, I have traveled to the United Kingdom, France, and Mexico.
Likes
:
Horses, art, fashion, interior design, traveling, reading, and tennis.
Special Interests:
  I love riding and showing horses.  I love traveling and being introduced to new people, their land, culture, and customs.  I played the clarinet, enjoy music, and love dancing.  I like to stay in shape by exercising regularly. 
Overview:  I am grateful for the opportunity to travel to Europe and thrilled to share the experience with my parents.  I am intrigued by international studies and look forward to enriching my understanding of global perspectives. 

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