This is my eleventh year of teaching at Powdersville Middle, and I am thrilled to finally debut our professional communications class for this year's 8th graders! Prior to developing this course, I taught English I Honors for seven years, as well as Language Arts for ten out of the 11 years I've been at Powdersville. I have also taught Creative Writing and Journalism classes as a part of the Related Arts team. Prior to moving to PVMS, I worked in special education at the elementary and high school level, specializing in working with children with emotional disabilities. I am a 2007 graduate of Clemson University, where I have degrees in political science and English literature. I have two dogs: a German shepherd/timberwolf mix named Beowulf who lives with me, and a golden retriever mix named River who lives with my girlfriend. In addition to teaching, I'm the announcer for varsity athletics at Powdersville High. That means on Friday nights in the fall, especially if I turn up the microphone, I'm the loudest person in Powdersville!

My favorite part of my job is helping students to learn to think critically about their world and themselves, while helping them to also learn how to become better communicators. As you can see from the list above, I also enjoy leading student travels, including the annual 8th grade field trip to NYC, which I am hoping 2021-2022 will allow us to start back up again! *Fingers crossed for good luck!*