Mrs. Aspen Kuk

Biography:

When I was growing up, I always loved learning in all facets of life, such as in school, while cooking, during sports practice, when I helped my father fix up his old Harley and during every new phase of my life. However, with that being said, I originally wanted to become a nurse so that I could care for children. In 2015, after doing my Nursing Clinical, I decided that nursing wasn't for me, and instead teaching was where I belonged. I am so incredibly grateful that I realized this early in life, so that I could go back to school to become a World Language Teacher. My favorite part of teaching ASL is watching the students communicate with one another in sign language, as well as educating them in Deaf culture.

This is my third year teaching at Pulaski High School. I am learning new things everyday from my students, coworkers and many other staff members across Milwaukee Public Schools; during the Fall 2018 semester, I student taught at Pulaski. I was very excited for the opportunity to return to Pulaski this year in my continued role as the American Sign Language teacher and newly acquired role of World Language Department Chair. As a Child of a Deaf Adult (CODA), it is a privilege for me to be able to educate the World on Deaf culture, Deaf communities and the ASL language, which provides such rich interactions through sign language.

My husband and I live about 45 minutes from Milwaukee. We have been married for ten years, and we do not have any children yet. I enjoy listening to music, singing, working out, traveling, trying new recipes, crocheting, scrap-booking, kayaking, reading, trying new things and gardening. My husband Tim works at a plant where they create extremely large cranes. Our favorite thing to do together is to travel the World; we have traveled to Mexico twice, the Bahamas, Tennessee, Kentucky, California, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, and Florida several times.

I love to read sci-fi and thriller novels. Some of my favorite books and authors are: Stephenie Meyer- Twilight series, Veronica Roth- Divergent series, William Shakespeare- Much Ado About Nothing, Suzanne Collins- Hunger Games series, Margaret Atwood- Handmaid's Tale and books about teaching. Think about the impact that reading has on our World, such as all the movies and tv series that were created from novels. The human imagination has no boundaries; reading gives us a whole new World to dive into and can transport us to places we may never have conceived on our own.