I was born in Spokane, Washington, and moved several times with my five brothers and sisters to various houses in Colorado and Washington. We spent most of our free time fishing and exploring the outdoors, and I started swimming when I was only five years old. I continued to participate in swim team every summer, and then began coaching a summer team when I was sixteen. It was then that I discovered my true passion for teaching, as I educated children on the skills and techniques they needed to swim and enjoy the water. I also met my future husband while working at the pool, as we spent several summers lifeguarding and coaching together.

 

After high school, I attended a local community college, and then transferred to Eastern Washington University to join up with one of my brothers. Upon graduation with my Bachelor of Arts in Education (and a minor in Math), I started my teaching career at an elementary school in Tacoma, Washington, and quickly learned how challenging it could be when I had four of my students that only spoke in Russian or Korean! Unfortunately that class only lasted a few months, then the Air Force moved my new husband and I to Great Falls, Montana, where I found a math tutoring position at an elementary school. I also had a chance to coach a middle-school volleyball team, but after just one year those positions ended as I started my family and began taking care of the first of our four children, which was definitely a full-time job!

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Over the years I dabbled in coaching a variety of sports, and volunteering in classrooms, but when we arrived in California (the first time) I found an opportunity to substitute teach, and that is when I discovered Manzanita Charter School! I loved the school, and my oldest son was in the first class of sixth graders, so I was a little sad when we had to move after just two years. Another two years went by very quickly, and I continued to volunteer in elementary school in Colorado Springs, and then thankfully in 2011 we arrived back on the Central Coast and I returned to the home of the Mountain Lions to resume teaching. After three wonderful years as a math and English tutor, I am now very excited to have my own classroom for the very first time!