I grew up in Haverhill, Massachusetts and I still live there now with my husband (who is a teacher, too) and our hound dog named Gidget. Growing up, I attended Haverhill Public Schools. In high school I played soccer and lacrosse. I have an older brother and an older sister. My brother lives in Haverhill and is a plumber in the Boston Plumbers' Union, and my sister lives in Seattle, Washington and is an Intensive Care Unit Nurse. I'm so proud of them. My mom and dad still live in Haverhill (but they were born and grew up in Ireland) and my dad is a mechanic for the MBTA and my mom works in elder care. Some of my favorite things about Haverhill are the parks (Winnekenni Castle, Millvale, the Stadium), the Merrimack River, all the shops and restaurants downtown, and having many of my friends and family a short walk away.
I went to Bridgewater State University (GO BEARS!) from 2008 to 2012 and studied English Literature and Secondary Education. I did my student teaching in 2012 in Middleborough, MA. From 2012-2013 I worked at Masconoment as a 7th grade paraprofessional. Then I was lucky enough to get the 8th grade ELA job at AMS! Soon thereafter I enrolled at Salem State University in a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program and in 2017 graduated with my masters degree in teaching ESOL. I am currently taking classes at Salem State University in History, which has been really fun!
I have a lot of hobbies but most of them involve being outdoors. I love hiking (in 2019 I through hiked the Long Trail in Vermont, 276 miles total). There are 48 four thousand foot mountains in New Hampshire and I only have one left: Owl's Head! I love swimming and gardening. I enjoy running and biking. I also love food! I love cooking and trying new recipes. I love hanging on the couch and reading a good book and spending time with friends and family. Traveling is one of my passions--I've been to Ireland, England, Italy, Canada, Spain, Cambodia, Sardinia, Vietnam, Mexico, Turkey, and India... just to name a few. Obviously, I seriously have the travel bug. It is pretty convenient that I have the summer off so that I can explore, travel, swim, garden and hike!
“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."
-Walt Whitman