I live in the Gwinnett county portion of Hoschton, Georgia with my husband, two daughters, son, and two cats. I grew up in Decatur and Conyers, Georgia and earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, as well as a Masters of Science in Manufacturing Systems from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1985, and 1990, respectively. I worked as a standards engineer, budget analyst, and computer aided manufacturing systems engineer for Lockheed Aerospace in Marietta, Georgia and as a computer integrated systems engineer for Motorola Paging Division in Boynton Beach, Florida. I loved working for Motorola because it was filled with bright, highly motivated people designing state-of-the-art manufacturing systems who loved to work hard and play hard. I decided to resign from Motorola when my first child was born. While I enjoyed being home with my daughter and subsequent children, I always missed the mental challenge of work and the camaraderie of working within a group toward a common goal. I began volunteering with many different organizations in which my children participated including the girl scouts, boy scouts, my church’s youth program, and various PTA committees to name a few. I discovered that I really enjoyed working with children and helping them learn. Their natural curiosity about the world around them and their excitement when they grasped new concepts was the spark that began my interest in becoming a teacher. I decided that becoming a teacher would be my next “career.” The first decision that I needed to make was what would I teach? I have always loved math, science, reading, and learning in general. Initially, I narrowed the choices down to teaching middle grades math and science or becoming a media specialist. By becoming a media specialist, I could impact an entire school’s student population rather than a single class or team of classes. Additionally, it is my personal belief that for the twenty-first century, information literacy skills are as important as any other skill students must master to function as successful, contributing members of our information society. So, it was with delight and some amount of trepidation that I began my masters program at the University of Georgia in Instructional Technology with an emphasis on School Library Media. I have enjoyed my classes at UGA and am eager to add my newly acquired Media Specialist skills to my toolkit that I have built from my previous professional life and parenting experiences. I look forward to creating a media program that is student-centered, connects learning to the outside world, increases student achievement, and promotes a life-long love of reading and learning. |