Biographical Information

I am originally from Villa Grove, Illinois, which is approximately 20 minutes south of Champaign-Urbana. I was raised on our small family farm located in Hugo, Illinois which is about 10 minutes south of Villa Grove off of Route 130, where my parents still live. I have an older sister that is married and lives in Champaign-Urbana with her husband and three sons. My mother has retired from the University of Illinois and my sister still works there. My father is an University of Illinois Alumni with his Bachelor's and Master's in Education. He was an Ag teacher for many years and was also a sanitarian for our county's health department for many years. This is part of the reason why I wanted my Master's degree to be from the U of I.

I met my husband online in the fall of 2004 and met face to face for the first time in January of 2005. We were married in July of 2006. He is a registered nurse and has worked a variety of jobs. He has worked as a Psychiatric Nurse in a hospital setting, home-health setting, and within the Air Force Reserves, as a dialysis nurse, and a health surveillance nurse for the state. His schedule has slowed down some since he retired from the Air Force Reserves after 21 years of service.

I received my Bachelor in Science from Eastern Illinois University in May of 1999 in Business Education. While at Eastern, I was actively involved in not only my residence hall council, but also in the Association of Honors Students and in Pi Omega Pi, which is a Business Education Fraternity. After graduation, I was hired at Auburn High School in Auburn, Illinois. I have been teaching here since August of 1999. Over the years I have taught Computer Applications I, Computer Applications II, Computer Applications III, Consumer Education, Graphic Design, Desktop Publishing (Yearbook), Business Law, Sports and Entertainment Marketing, Introduction to Business and Freshman Seminar. I earned my Master Science in Education - Human Resource Education - E-Learning from the University of Illinois in May 2010. I do not believe that this will be my last time as a student however.