I grew up in the desert foothills of El Paso, Texas, where I developed a deep appreciation for the natural world, a love of language and photography, and a quiet grounding in East-Asian philosophy. I graduated from The University of Texas at El Paso and am now in my sixth year teaching English at Travis High School. This year, I’m especially excited to begin my second year teaching Creative Writing. I believe education is as much about connection as it is about content, and I carry a simple philosophy into the classroom: “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”