Yep -- you bet! But it's not in the "traditional" sense of coaching. Since 2013, I have been proud to coach the Lawrence County CTC Chapter of SkillsUSA Opening and Closing Team.

In SkillsUSA, students are given the opportunity to compete against other students enrolled in career and technical programs in both their trade areas and in professional skills like job interviews and public speaking. First, new members compete with students here at LCCTC to land their spot on the team. They prepare to present at the Leadership Conference in front of approximately 500 students and advisors, and then move on to the District 10 Competition; since 2013, we have won gold at districts. District gold medalists go on to state competition in Hershey, PA; since 2016, we have won gold at states. Gold medalists at the state level winners go on to compete with the best-of-the-best at the national level; since 2016, we have secured our spot with the top 12 teams in the second round of the national championships -- never scoring lower than 7th place, and in 2016, our team placed 3rd in the nation bringing home the bronze medal! 2020's COVID-19 broke this streak, but in 2021, we came back -- this time virtually, and once again earned gold! After this year's national competition, the team can "taste" a medal as we placed a close 4th in the nation!

Participation in SkillsUSA enriches CTE students' career education with Workplace Skills, Personal Skills, and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics. Additionally, SkillsUSA gives students an opportunity to win scholarships, recognition and advance their careers.

Yes -- I write AND edit for the Eagle Journal, but more importantly, I teach our kiddos to write and edit!

These extra-curricular activities keep me plenty busy. As the adviser for The LCCTC Eagle, we celebrate the positive events happening in our school and community with both a printed paper AND a blog (See the link above to read the online resources); it is the mission of LCCTC's student Eagle staff in the journalism class and Eagle Blog Club to share these events with you!

Each article has been written with this mind-set: "Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!" ~ Anne Frank

The blog is student-directed; the authors have a large say in the types of articles that are published. They practice brainstorming and interviewing skills and write rough drafts. They go through a two-step peer-editing process and finally, they see their article published for

• If you'd like to read the Eagle Article, please click here:

  • For the most updated versions of articles from the Eagle Blog: https://www.lcctceagles.com/the-eagle/

  • To read articles from 2015-2018: https://thelcctceagle.blogspot.com/

Yup! Its my way of making sure our kiddos have the reading, writing and speaking skills that our kiddos will need in the post-secondary world! And don't shy away from the word, "college" -- Many of these skills are easily-transferable into the world of work so our kids can be college and career-ready!

I have also been asked to once again teach Dual Enrollment Speech where eligible seniors can get a jump-start on their college career by taking this 3 college credit Butler County Community College (BC3) course during the school day. Interested Juniors should check with the Guidance Office for more details about scheduling this course for their senior year. For more information about this program, go to BC3 High School Programming . In the recent past, I taught English 101 and Prep Reading courses for BC3; I am well-aware of the skills students need to be prepared for the rigors of college and technical/trade schools.

Additionally, I have the honor of being asked to teach online graduate-level courses for Westminster College as an adjunct. I have also taught hybrid courses which include face-to-face time with technology, so be assured that I'm ready for whatever our world throws at me! Each week, the online courses feature the option of quality, self-driven instruction when the time fits best for them! With this opportunity, I am excited to help other teachers as they support and encourage future life-long learners! For more information about Westminster College, go to Westminster.edu. I also present reading strategies across the curriculum to future teachers in undergraduate classes.