About Me!
I was born in Southern California and moved to Brookings, Oregon when I was eight. I am the oldest child and have one younger brother, Mark. I moved to Juneau, Alaska in 2002 after graduating high school and attended the University of Alaska Southeast. In 2006 I traveled to Sydney, Australia where I attended Macquarie University on exchange for one term. I then spent the next six months or so traveling around Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand before returning home and enrolling at Southern Oregon University for my last year of college. I graduated in 2008 with my BS in Interdisciplinary Studies with emphases in English & Writing and Women's Studies. After graduation I worked as an assistant in the KASPER summer program the first year it was started and then was hired to work as a home school therapist for a young boy with Autism. In 2010 I started a business--Ocean View Labradoodles--breeding miniature Australian labradoodles, and after becoming a teacher it became a family business with my parents because I couldn't do both jobs by myself. I have always enjoyed working with children and had a few years of substitute teaching experience in Alaska and Oregon, so in 2011 I returned to SOU and entered the MAT program. My first teaching position was in Barrow, Alaska teaching 4th grade to mostly Inupiaq students and I loved it! Immersing yourself in a new culture and learning about a different way of life is one of the most amazing experiences a person can have. After two years, I returned to Brookings and worked at Kalmiopsis Elementary teaching 4th grade for five years before moving to Azalea Middle School to teach 8th Grade Science for two years and now am teaching 6th grade!
My favorite thing in the whole wide world is the ocean. I love marine science, especially anything having to do with marine mammals. Growing up I spent a lot of time exploring tidepools, whale watching, and volunteering at the Northcoast Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Center and the Battery Point Lighthouse. I hope to always be able to live near an ocean. In my free time I love to fish, camp, hike, read, and quilt. When I get the chance, I also love to travel. My favorite activity is SCUBA diving, so I try to travel to places where I can dive. I love documenting my dives through photography with my underwater digital camera.
Right now my teaching career is taking up most of my time, but I am constantly dreaming of my next big adventure--something involving a tropical beach and great diving!