ABOUT ME

Visiting site where Truman Capote spent childhood summers playing with Harper Lee in Monroeville, AL (summer 2013)
Just hanging with Henry Davide Thoreau near his cabin (or a replica of it) near Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts (summer 2022) 
Touring Colosseum while visiting Rome, Italy (summer 2019) 
Visiting the Salem Witch Museum in Salem, Massachusetts (summer 2022) 

My reason ... Teaching allows me to continue to learn daily while guiding some pretty bright and capable kiddos through some of my absolute favorite subject matter. Few things are as rewarding as watching as those I teach "get it." My students are truly the best part of my job! I LOVE WHAT I DO! 💛📚📝💡

My education ... Albertville High is my alma mater...class of 1996! I obtained both my BA in Mass Communication specializing in PR (2000) and my MSE in English Language Arts (2004) from Jacksonville State University. I hope to return to school soon in pursuit of my EdS, but I am enjoying the focus on family and time with my girls right now.

My beginning ...I actually began my career in public relations because of my love of writing. After just two years as an account manager at a PR firm, I realized I needed to be in a classroom and began making preparations. I worked at the local newspaper as a staff writer and did some freelance design work for local magazines while obtaining my MSE in ELA. I taught for three years at Arab High School, three years at Guntersville Middle/High Schools, and have been at Albertville High School since 2008.

My family ... Playing the role of mommy to Jensyn Ryann and Baxley Griffen, my two daughters, keeps me super busy when I'm outside the classroom. My partner in all the craziness that is our life is my husband Matt.

My loves ... Not much makes me happier than hitting the road on some new adventure (I LOVE TO TRAVEL✈️🌍), but I also enjoy writing, reading, photographing my family, and tinkering on projects around our place with my husband. (I'm becoming quite farmer-ish these days!) 

Posing with my family beneath Mesa Arch while hiking in Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah (October 2022) 
Cheesing atop Cadillac Mountain while exploring Acadia National Park with my family near Bar Harbor, Maine (summer 2022) 
Taking in a Red Sox game while visiting Boston, Massachusetts (summer 2022)