Hello,

I'm so excited to be entering my 11th year teaching at Langston Charter Middle School! I consider it a pleasure to share my love of history and other social sciences with my students and I am looking forward to a wonderful school year.  

I earned my undergraduate degree in history from Kennesaw State University and my Masters of Education in Teaching from Clemson University. I've had a varied history of job experience prior to becoming a teacher. After I finished my undergraduate degree, I worked as a South Carolina state park ranger. Then I worked for the Boy Scouts of America as a district executive in the Great Smoky Mountain Council of Knoxville, TN.  I also did some temporary work as a member of an archaeological excavation team in East Tennessee and finally before entering the teaching field, I worked as a certified personal trainer. I decided to enter teaching middle school social studies because it is a critical needs area. There is a demand for middle school teachers in most subjects so I decided to take advantage of the situation. It was the perfect opportunity for me to apply my degree in history and share my love for social studies. After I finished student teaching at Ralph Chandler Middle in Simpsonville and earning my Masters of Education in Teaching from Clemson University, I began my teaching career at Langston Charter. I love teaching at Langston for many reasons. Our school stands out for its unique leadership classes, single gender philosophy, and dedication to academic excellence! I love the support that Langston students get from parents and families. Our students not only are encouraged to step up the plate and give their academic best, but are also motivated to give back to others through community service projects. Langston Charter has been good to me and is certainly a blessing!

My wife, Nicky and I moved to the Greenville, SC area in 1999 from East Tennessee, though I grew up in Atlanta, Ga. We have two sons who are 23 and 26 years old. Our youngest son lives in the Greenville area and our oldest lives in the Atlanta area with his wife and toddler son. Since our grandson entered our lives over the summer last year, my wife and I have enjoyed being grandparents!  Since my wife was born in the Netherlands and I am of Dutch descent, we are teaching our grandson to call us Oma (grandma) and Opa (grandpa). We take great delight when we get to spend time with our little grandson.

Since my wife and I are empty nesters, we enjoy having household pets. We have two cats and a leopard gecko.  Sometimes I bring the gecko known as Ce Ce to school, so don't be surprised if you enter my classroom and see a friendly lizard smiling at you! We also occasionally take care of a dog named Ben who used to be our foster dog.  He is 11 years old and comes to our house once or twice a year when his owner goes on vacation or out of town. Even though he doesn't live with us, he is still part of the family and is very special to us.

I was born in Beaumont, Texas but grew up in the Atlanta, Georgia area. I am a Georgia Bulldog fan and always look forward to football season when I get to watch my Dawgs play! Of course I also have to support the Clemson Tigers since I am a Clemson alumnus, as long as they aren't playing my Dawgs. I've also been an Atlanta Braves fan since I was 8 years old and remember watching Hank Aaron play when he was trying to hit his 715th homerun to pass Babe Ruth as the homeroom leader of all time.  Since those days, the Braves have won the World Series twice, but the last couple of years have been hard for their fans. Nevertheless, I will continue to support the Atlanta Braves.

Wow, now you know probably more about me than you wanted to know. I look forward to getting to know all my new students and their families. I hope it is a great year and my students enjoy learning about World Geography!