When I was in elementary school, I was asked, what do you want to be when you grow up…and my response was a teacher. I enjoyed playing school and teaching my imaginary class. I took pleasure in learning new concepts and ideas. When I was challenged with something new, I was driven to master it. I was often the kid in the classroom helping my peers understand what the teacher was trying to teach. I thrived on assisting others to gain knowledge and see if they could learn something new.  This passion for learning and teaching continued throughout my life, and it still motivates me today.

My parents helped to nurture my desire to become a teacher. I grew up in the Virginia suburbs near our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. I was fortunate to grow up in a place rich with history and culture. At an early age, my parents took me, my sister, and my brother on educational adventures to places like the Smithsonian Museum(s), Mount Vernon, Gettysburg Battlefield, and the Vietnam War Memorial. One summer we took a long road trip, and my parents made sure that our family would see as many historical places as possible. Ironically, two of those stops were in Texas, the Alamo and the City of Galveston! No matter where we went on our vacations, my parents always believed in teaching us outside the classroom.

Aside from the family road trips and history lessons, I learned a great deal about life through the sports I played. I was a competitive soccer player and traveled throughout the United States to play against other girls my age. I also played field hockey and ran track in high school. Each sport helped me to gain confidence, learn discipline, and work hard both on the field and in the classroom. Eventually, I went on to play soccer at the collegiate level.

Here are the highlights of my career thus far:
 

• Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction Grades 4-8, from Virginia Tech University
• Graduate of Virginia Tech University, Bachelors of Science in Sociology and a Minor in Psychology
• Texas 4-8 Generalist Teacher Certification
• Texas ESL Teacher Certification
• Texas GT Teacher Certification
• Certification in Gifted and Talented Instruction from George Mason University
• Taught in the Gifted Education Program in Prince William County Public Schools for grades 4-8, from January 2000 to October 2007
• Taught 5th grade in Prince William County Public Schools; Mary Williams Elementary from November 2008 to June 2009
• Attended the Mickelson ExxonMobil Math and Science Teacher Academy in July of 2012
• Attended the University of Connecticut: Conference for the Gifted and Talented in July of 2013
• 2018 SCE Teacher of the Year
• 2018 Teacher of the Year District Finalist
• Taught at Sienna Crossing Elementary from 2009-2020
• Taught at Scanlan Oaks Elementary from 2021-2024
• Ronald Thornton MS

This is my first year as a sixth-grade teacher at Ronald Thornton Middle School and my twenty-third overall! I moved to Texas in 2009, and I live in Sienna with my wonderful husband Harry, my sweet son Luke, and our fun-loving dogs Mia and Coco.  Although I enjoy flying back to Virginia to visit my family, Texas has become home for me! When I’m not at school, you might find me exercising, coaching and playing soccer, gardening, decorating, reading, shopping, playing games, watching movies, or, more importantly, hanging out with my family and friends.