About Me
My entire life has led me down the path of becoming a teacher. Some of my first memories include forcing my cousins to play my students at Christmas while I taught them math, spelling, and art. My grandma’s attic was well stocked with supplies left over from her many years as an elementary art teacher. I wanted to be like my grandma, my uncle Bart, and my father. I had grown up surrounded by teachers of various subjects, and they were professions that I always looked up to and related with.
When I was young I didn’t really care what I taught, just so long as I was teaching. It wasn’t until I was around 10 or 11 that I found my passion in English. Reading opened up doors to new and interesting worlds and ideas. My passion for teaching was put on hold while I explored the various facets of the language arts. However, when I started considering colleges and career paths, I never doubted that I wanted to go into teaching.
I’ve worked in several teaching situations throughout my own life as a student. My first taste of teaching, or something like it, was in high school. I joined a group called SPOTS (Students Performing on Tough Situations). In this group we created and performed skits concerning various themes that students struggled with, which we discussed with students.
Since starting college I’ve worked with an after school group called Mind2Mind, and with this group I have tutored students in elementary and middle school age ranges. This group was important to me in a similar way to SPOTS in that I was not only teaching students education material, but also but also acting as more of a role-model as well. I’ve also worked a tutor at both Central High School and Washburn Edison Middle School, both of which are in Duluth.
In addition to my work with students, I’ve always been one to stay busy with activities. While in high school I was involved with band, choir, theatre, and Knowledge Bowl. In college I was in pep-band for a short time, and I’ve also held officer positions with groups on campus such as the Literary Guild and the Secular Humanist Association.
Most of my life has been spent in Minnesota; New Ulm and then Duluth. However, until I was 6 I lived in Michigan and New York for three years each. My father still lives in New York, so I spend portions of my visiting him, my stepmother, and my half-sisters. My mom, stepdad, and stepsiblings recently relocated to Wisconsin, though both of my stepbrothers go to school in Minnesota.