I was born in Arizona and spent my formative years between Arizona and Colorado. The first several years of my adult life were spent taking care of my children as a stay-at-home mom up until shortly after my youngest started school. Having mostly had experience working with children, I applied to work as an instructional assistant in the special education department at my son's school. I quickly fell in love with my job but longed to be able to do more, especially due to the many areas of need I could see in the educational system as well as the perspective I was able to apply to the classrooms I worked in. This is why I set out to get my teaching degree with a dual certification in Elementary Education and Special Education. I have a great deal of experience, both personally and professionally, in working with people with diverse needs and backgrounds. I will never approach teaching in a one size fits all way and I will always strive to be each one of my students' biggest advocate.