About me

I am from a very big family in a very small town in Michigan. I grew up with lots of little siblings and bookshelves creaking the floors. I was home schooled from kindergarten all the way through high school. This means my first experience in a "traditional" classroom was when I was 15 and began college classes at my local community college.

I did not grow up speaking Spanish, but my first Spanish teacher was amazing. Something about her crazy stories, stuffed animal props, and drawings on whiteboards inspired me to keep studying the language (even though it was the hardest subject I studied in college!) I majored in Spanish and English at Eastern Michigan University, where I also worked at the tutoring center.

After graduating I worked in Detroit teaching K-8 Spanish, and got my Masters degree in TESOL. I got a Fulbright grant to go to Spain for a year and teach English in an elementary school. Besides giving me a lisp in Spanish for a while, that year living on the Mediterranean also ruined me for midwestern winters. After a few more years teaching in a snowy Detroit, I eventually moved to sunny California to teach Spanish at a project based school.

I love PBL as a way to learn life skills in an authentic way. My favorite projects have been the ones that allow my students to connect with their local and global community - for example, service learning with Border Angels, communicating and learning about the monarch migration with schools in Mexico, and creating zines about language learning to share at Zine Fest.

Now after 10 years of teaching in the classroom, I've taken on a support role as English Language Learner coordinator. I work with our bilingual students, our Spanish-speaking families, and help support staff with making sure every student can be successful. I'm also working with the CARPE network where I am collaborating with a network of schools across California to increase college access, especially for historically underrepresented populations.