I'm a graduate of Palatine High School, and I loved my time here so much that I just had to come back! I've spent my whole life in Palatine, and I see that as the best thing in the world. I love our community and all the opportunities we have within it. After my days at PHS, I studied at the University of Iowa. Go Hawks! At Iowa, I earned degrees in Spanish and World Language Education, as well as a minor in Psychology.

Some of my life long interests have included aquatic sports, music, and crafting. I swam and played water polo here at Palatine, and I was also heavily involved in orchestra. I'm a huge chocolate lover; I will eat all of it and have no regrets. I'm an avid fan of Six Flags and rollercoasters in general; I'm here for the thrill! My favorite movie since childhood has always been Cheaper by the Dozen, and I don't think that'll ever change. There still is one interest that has been present in my life much longer than the ones I just mentioned. Spanish! I have been learning Spanish pretty much since I was born, as I come from a family of native speakers.

I believe that language is a beautiful, yet strange, part of being human. Somehow, it simultaneously connects and divides us. Learning a new language not only allows us to communicate with different people, it also gives us the opportunity to enrich ourselves and broaden our worldviews. I work to make my class as relevant as possible, in order to show my students that we are learning about real life people, real life contributions, real life stakes, and real life problems.

Aside from making this cultural aspect known, I also work to cater to all my students learning needs. I recognize that everyone is an individual and that not everyone will learn the same way. It is for this reason that I incorporate as many resources and strategies that I can to make sure that I am getting through to each student's individual learning style. Of course, things might not be perfect at first. While this might be the case, I believe that as a teacher it's my duty to keep trying new methods until I find the ones that stick the best. Even then, a teacher's job is never done!